Choricius of Gaza () was a Gaza-based

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

sophist A sophist () was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught ''arete'', "virtue" or "excellen ...

and

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

ian of

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

. With writings dating to the early sixth century, he flourished in the time of Anastasius I (AD 491–518) as a scholar and public orator. He is considered as part of the Rhetorical School of Gaza, of which he later became the chair. Choricius was the pupil of Procopius of Gaza, who must be distinguished from the historian

Procopius of Caesarea Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Emperor Justinian's wars, Procopius became the pr ...

. He was a Christian and among the surviving works of Choricius are many public addresses, such as to dedication of church of St. Sergius and a basilica dedicated to St. Stephen. Nevertheless, like other members of the School of Gaza, he displayed his traditional education through his profound knowledge of classic Hellenic mythology, literature and history. As given in his second address on bishop Marcian of Gaza, given around 520, he emphasised the bond between classic erudition and ecclesiastic scriptural exegesis, the "one offering eloquence, the other one benefitting the soul". These works also give a good insight into late-Roman Gaza, such as about its traditions and festivals as well as about the numerous building projects initiated by its impactful bishops Marcianus and the governor Stephanus.

Style and works

A number of Choricius'

declamation Declamation (from the Latin: ''declamatio'') is an artistic form of public speaking. It is a dramatic oration designed to express through articulation, emphasis and gesture the full sense of the text being conveyed. History In Ancient Rome, decl ...

s and descriptive treatises have been preserved. The declamations, which are in many cases accompanied by explanatory commentaries, chiefly consist of

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

s, funeral orations and the stock themes of the rhetorical schools. His wedding speeches, wishing prosperity to the bride and bridegroom, strike out a new line. Choricius was also the author of descriptions of works of art after the manner of

Philostratus Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; ; 170s – 240s AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He flourished during the reign of Septimius Severus ...

. The moral maxims, which were a constant feature of his writings, were largely drawn upon by Macanus Chrysocephalas, metropolitan of Philadelphia (middle of the 14th century), in his ''Rodonia'' (rose-garden), a voluminous collection of ethical sayings. The style of Choricius is praised by

Photius Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...

as pure and elegant, but he is censured for lack of naturalness. A special feature of his style is the persistent avoidance of hiatus, peculiar to what is called the school of Gaza.

References

External links

*Choricius
''Orationes, declamationes, fragmenta''
ed. Boissonade (1846) {{EB1911 article with no significant updates Roman-era Sophists Ancient Greek rhetoricians 5th-century births 6th-century deaths 5th-century Byzantine writers 6th-century Byzantine people Rhetorical School of Gaza

Style and works

References

Further reading

External links