Rhetorician Himerius and His School in Athens at 2nd Half of the 4th Century A.D

• Published in: Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Serii͡a︡ 4, Istorii͡a Vol. 21; no. 5; pp. 32 - 42
• Main Authors: Bolgova, Anna, Bolgov, Nikolay
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Volgograd State University 10-11-2016
• Subjects: Athens; Himerius; Late Antiquity; rhetoric; school; speech
• ISSN: 1998-9938; 2312-8704
• DOI: 10.15688/jvolsu4.2016.5.3

The complex cultural processes related to the conservation of the ancient heritage had taken place in the period of Late Antiquity. At the same period, the high school of a new had been shaped – the school with the classical religious content that would satisfy the needs of the Christian society. The leaders of the third sophistry, in particular, Himerius, a teacher of Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian and head of the rhetorical school in Athens of 2nd half of the 4th c. A.D., played an important role in this process. In his 34 preserved speeches classical themes dominate, and the poetic spirit is observed. Information about other speeches was obtained through excerpts and references of Photius (9th c. A.D.). In addition to the rhetoric, some Himerius’s speech fragments are also of special interest. Theses fragments refer to the rhetorical school and teaching, as well as appropriate vocabulary. The heritage of Himerius is very poorly studied in Russian historical science and is in need of updating. Himerius was on a par with other prominent rhetoricians of that period – Libanius from Antioch and Themistius from Constantinople, but in comparison to them Himerius was more committed to the classical tradition. The authors of the present article are grateful to Dr. R.J. Penella for discussing some ideas of this article.