Priscus of Epirus (; c. 305 – c. 395 AD), also known as Priscus the Thesprotian () and Priscus the Molossian (),Eunapius, Lives of the Philosophers and Sophists, 429 was a Neoplatonic philosopher and theurgist, a colleague of Maximus of Ephesus, and a friend of the Emperor Julian.
Biography Priscus was a pupil of Aedesius in Pergamon, and later went to teach in Athens, where he taught Julian.Jacques Brunschwig, Geoffrey Ernest Richard Lloyd, Pierre Pellegrin, (2000), Greek thought: a guide to classical knowledge, page 910. Harvard University Press When Julian was in Gaul, he wrote to Priscus in the hope of acquiring the writings of Iamblichus on the Chaldean Oracles.Glen Warren Bowersock, (1997), Julian the Apostate, pages 29-30. Harvard University Press When Julian was proclaimed Caesar he summoned Priscus to Gaul, and he accompanied him to Constantinople when he became Augustus in 361.K. Staikos, (2007), The history of the library in Western civilization, Volume 3, page 76. Priscus and Maximus travelled with Julian on campaign in Persia, and they were with him when he died in 363.Negri Gaetano, (2009), Julian the Apostate, page 210. BiblioBazaar Sometime after the death of Julian, Priscus was arrested but eventually freed, avoiding the fate of Maximus who was executed in 371.Dominic J. O'Meara, (2005), Platonopolis: Platonic Political Philosophy in Late Antiquity, page 19. Oxford University Press. Priscus returned to Athens where he continued to teach for more than thirty years.M. V. Sakellariou, (1997), Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization, page 158.
He is portrayed as a prominent character in Gore Vidal's novel Julian (novel), where he appears as personal friend of the emperor-protagonist while still expressing some criticism of the man's spirituality and actions in some instances.
References
Further reading On Priscus pp. 629–647.
External links
Eunapius, Lives of the Sophists: Priscus