Zenobius (Greek: Ζηνόβιος) was a Greek sophist, who taught rhetoric at Rome during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (AD 117–138).[1]

Biography edit

He was the author of a collection of proverbs in three books, still extant in an abridged form, compiled, according to the Suda,[2] from Didymus of Alexandria and "The Tarrhaean" (Lucillus of Tarrha, a polis in Crete).[3] In the work, the proverbs are alphabetised and grouped by hundreds. This collection was first printed by Filippo Giunti in Florence, 1497.

Zenobius is also said to have been the author of a Greek translation of the Latin prose author Sallust, which has been lost, and of a birthday poem on the emperor Hadrian.[3]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Smith 1873, Zeno'bius.
  2. ^ Suda ζ 73
  3. ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 972.

References edit

  •   Smith, William, ed. (1873). "Zeno'bius". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Zenobius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 972. Endnotes:

External links edit