Philostorgius
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Philostorgius (Greek: Φιλοστόργιος; 368 – c. 439 AD) was an Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries.
Very little information about his life is available. He was born in Borissus, Cappadocia to Eulampia and Carterius,[1] and lived in Constantinople from the age of twenty. He is said to have come from an Arian family, and in Constantinople soon attached himself to Eunomius of Cyzicus, who received much praise from Philostorgius in his work.
He wrote a history of the
He also wrote a treatise against Porphyry, which is completely lost.[3]
Value
Philostorgius’ account of the emperor
Philostorgius’ tale must be false,[5] as the “official version” promoted by Constantius himself was that his relatives were innocent victims of a sudden mutiny.[6] Varying suggestions have been given for the origins of this rumor. Burgess believed it was a later invention when Constantius’ role in the murders could no longer be plausibly denied,[5] while Crawford thought it was used to motivate the soldiers to murder Constantius’ relatives.[7]
In other cases, however, what Philostorgius says is consistent with what other sources say. For instance, Ammianus Marcellinus’ statement that Gratian supervised his younger brother’s education[8] lines up with Philostorgius, who disliked Gratian, admitting that he “discharged the duty of a father” towards him.[9]
Editions
- Bruno Bleckmann, Markus Stein (ed.): Philostorgios Kirchengeschichte (= ISBN 978-3-506-78199-4.
- Philostorgius, Kirchengeschichte. Mit dem Leben des Lucian von Antiochien und den Fragmenten eines arianischen Historiographen, edited by Joseph Bidez and revised by Friedhelm Winkelmann, GCS (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1981).
- Philostorgius Church History, editor and translator Philip R. Amidon, S.J. (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007).
- , (London: Henry G. Bonn, 1855)
References
- ^ Philostorgius, in Photius, Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius, book 9, chapter 9.
- ^ Philostorgius Church History, editor and translator Philip R. Amidon, S.J. (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007), xxi
- ^ Philostorgius, in Photius, Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius, book 10, chapter 10.
- ^ a b Hunt 1998, p. 4.
- ^ a b c Burgess 2008, p. 20.
- ^ Burgess 2008, p. 27.
- ^ Crawford 2016, “Preparation for the Purple: Constantius’ Upbringing and Accession”.
- ^ McLynn 1994, p. 85.
- ^ Hughes 2013, p. 138.
Sources
- Burgess, R.W. (2008). "THE SUMMER OF BLOOD: The "Great Massacre" of 337 and the Promotion of the Sons of Constantine". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 62: 5–51. JSTOR 20788042.
- Crawford, Peter (2016). Constantius II: Usurpers, Eunuchs, and the Antichrist. Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-78340-055-3.
- Hunt, David (1998). "The successors of Constantine". In ISBN 0-521-30200-5.
- Hughes, Ian (5 August 2013). Imperial Brothers: Valentinian, Valens and the Disaster at Adrianople. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-2863-6.
- McLynn, Neil B. (1994), Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital, The Transformation of the Classical Heritage, vol. 22, Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-08461-2
Further reading
- Studies
- Bruno Bleckmann, "Apokalypse und kosmische Katastrophen: Das Bild der theodosianischen Dynastie beim Kirchenhistoriker Philostorg," in Brandes, Wolfram / Schmieder, Felicitas (hg), Endzeiten. Eschatologie in den monotheistischen Weltreligionen (Berlin, de Gruyter, 2008) (Millennium-Studien / Millennium Studies / Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte des ersten Jahrtausends n. Chr. / Studies in the Culture and History of the First Millennium C.E., 16), 13–40.
External links