Favorinus


Favorinus of Arelate was a Roman sophist and philosopher who flourished during the reign of Hadrian.

He was of Gaulish ancestry, born in Arelate . He is described as a eunuch by birth. He received an exquisite education, first in Gallia Narbonensis and then in Rome, and at an early age began his lifelong travels through Greece, Italy and the East. His extensive knowledge, combined with great oratorical powers, raised him to eminence both in Athens and in Rome. With Plutarch, with Herodes Atticus, to whom he bequeathed his library at Rome, with Demetrius the Cynic, Cornelius Fronto, Aulus Gellius, and with Hadrian himself, he lived on intimate terms his great rival, whom he violently attacked in his later years, was Polemon of Smyrna.

Source: Wikipedia