Biography:Claudius Rufinus Sophistes
Claudius Rufinus Sophistes was a sophist of ancient Rome, of the Second Sophistic tradition. He lived in Smyrna in Asia Minor during the 2nd century.[1] In his earliest references, he is called simply "Rufinus", then, starting around 200 CE "Claudius Rufinus", and from about 208 onwards, "Claudius Rufinus Sophistes".[2]
Rufinus was a respected member of the community, having come from a long line of respected sophists. He had been granted an exemption from all taxes, duties, and service, by the Roman emperor, and was known to be a generous benefactor, donating several public buildings.[3]
He was elected strategos of Smyrna during the reign of Gordian I, and he features prominently on the coinage of this city during this period.[4][5] As a sophist and rhetor, he was the teacher of the sophist Hermocrates of Phocaea. He was also possibly the dedicatee of the book Sophistic Preparations by Phrynichus Arabius.[5]
He also features in the story of the martyrdom of Pionius, as one of Pionius's questioners.[3][6]
When he died, he was honored as an extremely prominent citizen, with a public funeral, commemorative games, and a sumptuous tomb.[3]
References
- ↑ Barnes, Timothy David (2010) (in English). Early Christian Hagiography and Roman History. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 74–75. ISBN 9783161502262. https://books.google.com/books?id=diCOxa4OYwkC. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ↑ Fox, Robin Lane (1988) (in English). Pagans and Christians. Harper & Row. pp. 466. ISBN 9780060628529. https://books.google.com/books?id=bBqOAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kendrick, M. Gregory (2014) (in English). The Heroic Ideal: Western Archetypes from the Greeks to the Present. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. pp. 46. ISBN 9780786457519. https://books.google.com/books?id=Xrkw0Cu2feIC. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ↑ Burden-Strevens, Christopher (2020) (in English). Cassius Dio's Speeches and the Collapse of the Roman Republic. Brill Publishers. pp. 23. ISBN 9789004431362. https://books.google.com/books?id=pCzvDwAAQBAJ. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bowie, Ewen (2023). "Greek Poetry in the Antonine Age" (in English). Essays on Ancient Greek Literature and Culture. 2. Cambridge University Press. pp. 286. ISBN 9781107058125. https://books.google.com/books?id=FkPGEAAAQBAJ. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ↑ Dmitriev, Sviatoslav (2005) (in English). City government in Hellenistic and Roman Asia minor. Oxford University Press. pp. 264. ISBN 9780195170429. https://books.google.com/books?id=bfoRDAAAQBAJ. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
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