Calliopius (Greek: Καλλιόπιος, ) was a Greek rhetor and official of the Roman Empire.
Family and early life Calliopius was a Greek nobleman from Antioch.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1971), p. 174 The parents of Calliopius are unknown, but he had some relationship to the sometime quaestor sacri palatii Montius Magnus, and was perhaps his son.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1971), p. 175
In his youth, he studied with Zenobius and although at birth he was a Christian, Calliopius became a paganSelected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.236 of the Ancient Greek religion. His date of birth is unknown and little is known on his early life.
Libanius and his political career Calliopius became skilled in Rhetoric.Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.236 Calliopius was friends with Seleucus, LibaniusSelected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.108 and was a contemporary to the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate who ruled from November 361 until June 26, 363. He friendship with these three men went back to the early 350s.Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.265 Calliopius had taught with Libanius as an assistant-teacherSelected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.108 in Antioch and Constantinople.Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.236 Calliopius was one of the correspondents to Libanius in which various letters between the both of them have survived.
During his time as an assistant teacher with Libanius, he may have served in an unknown advocate role.Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.236 After, Calliopius held a minor post in the imperial chancellery.Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, pp. 108, 236Martindale, Jones & Morris (1971), p. 174 Either in 359 or in 360 he served as an assessor perhaps in Euphratensis, as in 360 he was being prosecuted for his conduct as an assessor.Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, pp. 108, 238Martindale, Jones & Morris (1971), p. 174 In 360 he was made a senator, und in 362 Julian promoted him to governor (consularis) of Macedonia in 362.Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.236Martindale, Jones & Morris (1971), p. 174
Calliopius’ son was the advocate and translator Paeanius.
References
Sources A.H.M. Jones, J.R. Martindale & J. Morris, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press, 1971 Antioch as a Centre of Hellenic Culture, as Observed by Libanius, Liverpool University Press, 2001 P. Moret & B. Cabouret, Sertorius, Libanios, iconographie: a propos de Sertorius, journée d'étude, Toulouse, 7 avril 2000 [suivi de] autour de Libanios, culture et société dans l'antiquité tardive : actes de la table ronde, Avignon, 27 avril 2000, Presses Univ. du Mirail, 2003 Selected Letters of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, Liverpool University Press, 2004