Priscus of Epirus ( el, Πρίσκος; c. 305 – c. 395 AD), also known as Priscus the

Thesprotian The Thesprotians ( grc, Θεσπρωτοί, Thesprōtoí) were an ancient Greek tribe, akin to the Molossians, inhabiting the kingdom of Thesprotis in Epirus. Together with the Molossians and the Chaonians, they formed the main tribes of the nort ...

( el, Πρίσκος ὁ Θεσπρωτὸς) and Priscus the

Molossian The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On thei ...

( el, Πρίσκος ὁ Μολοσσός), was a

Neoplatonist Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...

philosopher and theurgist, a colleague of

Maximus of Ephesus Maximus of Ephesus ( grc-gre, Μάξιμος ὁ Ἐφέσιος; c. 310 – 372 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher. He is said to have come from a rich family, and exercised great influence over the emperor Julian, who was commended to him by Ae ...

, and a friend of the emperor Julian. Priscus was a pupil of

Aedesius Aedesius ( grc-gre, Αἰδέσιος, died 355 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher and mystic born of a noble Cappadocian family. Career Aedesius was born into a wealthy Cappadocian family, but he moved to Syria, where he was apprenticed to Iamb ...

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

, and later went to teach in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, where he taught Julian. When Julian was in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, he wrote to Priscus in the hope of acquiring the writings of Iamblichus on the Chaldean Oracles. When Julian was proclaimed Caesar he summoned Priscus to Gaul, and he took him with him to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

when he became Augustus in 361. Priscus and Maximus travelled with Julian on campaign in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and they were with him when he died in 363. Sometime after the death of Julian, Priscus was arrested but eventually freed, avoiding the fate of Maximus who was executed in 371. Priscus returned to

where he continued to teach for more than thirty years.M. V. Sakellariou, (1997), ''Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization'', page 158.

References

External links

*{{cite EB1911 , wstitle=Priscus (philosopher) , display=Priscus , volume=22 , page=361, short=x *

Eunapius Eunapius ( el, Εὐνάπιος; fl. 4th–5th century AD) was a Greek sophist and historian of the 4th century AD. His principal surviving work is the ''Lives of Philosophers and Sophists'' ( grc-gre, Βίοι Φιλοσόφων καὶ Σο� ...

''Lives of the Sophists: Priscus''
4th-century philosophers 4th-century Greek people Neoplatonists Roman-era Epirotes