Xenocles of Adramyttium (in Greek: ''Ξενοκλής ο Αδραμυττηνός'') was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

renowned

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

, mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

. ..''he studied oratory with Xenocles of Adramyttium, Dionysius of Magnesia, and Menippus the Carian'' ../cite> Xenocles hailed from

Adramyttium Adramyttium ( ''Adramyttion'', Ἀδραμύττειον ''Adramytteion'', or Ἀτραμύττιον ''Atramyttion'') was an ancient city and bishopric in Aeolis, in modern-day Turkey. It was originally located at the head of the Edremit Gulf, G ...

, an ancient Greek city in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. Rushing to

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

and speaking before the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

, Xenocles effectively refuted the various accusations that had been made - that the entire region, the province of Asia, was friendly towards

Mithridates Mithridates or Mithradates (Old Persian 𐎷𐎡𐎰𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 ''Miθradāta'') is the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic form of an Iranian languages, Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It ...

. It is noted that the orator Xenocles was a contemporary of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

, with whom he was greatly friends, a relationship that developed during the latter's stay in Asia in

78 BC __NOTOC__ Year 78 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lepidus and Catulus. Later and less frequently, it was known as the year 676 AUC). The denomination 78 BC for this year ...

References

Bibliography

* * * Cicero. "Brutus." The Latin Library. http://thelatinlibrary.com/cicero/brut.shtml. Ancient Greek rhetoricians 1st-century BC Greek writers {{AncientGreece-bio-stub