Herodian

Herodian or Herodianus (Greek: Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria,[1] sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus[2] (τῆς μετὰ Μάρκον βασιλείας ἱστορία) in eight books covering the years 180 to 238. His work is not considered entirely reliable, although his less biased account of Elagabalus may be more useful than that of Cassius Dio.[3] Herodian himself may have been a Syrian[4][5][6][7] (perhaps from Antioch), though he appears to have lived for a considerable period of time in Rome, possibly without holding any public office. From his extant work, it seems that he was still living at an advanced age during the reign of Gordianus III, who ascended the throne in 238. Beyond this, nothing is known of his life.

Herodian writes (1.1.3; 2.15.7) that the events described in his history occurred during his lifetime. Photius (Codex 99) gives an outline of the contents of this work and passes a flattering encomium on the style of Herodian, which he describes as clear, vigorous, agreeable, and preserving a happy medium between an utter disregard of art and elegance and a profuse employment of the artifices and prettinesses which were known under the name of Atticism, as well as between boldness and bombast. He appears to have used Thucydides as a model to some extent, both for style and for the general composition of his work, often introducing speeches wholly or in part imaginary.

  1. ^ Antioch, Herodian of (2021-05-28). Herodian of Antioch's History of the Roman Empire. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-36642-8.
  2. ^ Pitcher, Luke (2021-12-01). Herodian. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-49881-5.
  3. ^ Rantala, Jussi (2020). "Ruling in Purple... and Wearing Make-up. Gendered Adventures of Emperor Elagabalus as Seen by Cassius Dio and Herodian.". In Allison Surtees, Jennifer Dyer (ed.). Exploring Gender Diversity in the Ancient World. Cambridge University Press.
  4. ^ Herodian ( 11 . 7 . 9 ) says φύσει δε κούφoν τo Σύρον έθνος - an interesting comment , since Herodian himself may have been Syrian https://books.google.ae/books?id=UsRfAAAAMAAJ&q=herodian+Syrian+origin&dq=herodian+Syrian+origin&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFu7nclanvAhUHiFwKHSmpBhEQ6AEwB3oECAcQAw
  5. ^ Liebler, Naomi Conn (2002-09-11). Shakespeare's Festive Tragedy: The Ritual Foundations of Genre. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-78872-9.
  6. ^ Herodian (conceivably himself of Syrian origin) https://books.google.ae/books?id=_uXVAAAAMAAJ&q=herodian+Syrian+origin&dq=herodian+Syrian+origin&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFu7nclanvAhUHiFwKHSmpBhEQ6AEwA3oECAUQAw
  7. ^ Herodian ' s Syrian origin is defended https://books.google.ae/books?id=WGwZAAAAMAAJ&q=herodian+Syrian+origin&dq=herodian+Syrian+origin&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFu7nclanvAhUHiFwKHSmpBhEQ6AEwAHoECAAQAw