Quick Facts
Born:
c. 345,, Sardis, Lydia
Died:
c. 420
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

Eunapius (born c. 345, Sardis, Lydia—died c. 420) was a Greek rhetorician and historiographer whose Lives of the Philosophers and Sophists is important as a source of information on contemporary Neoplatonists (edited with Latin translation by J.F. Boissonade, 1849; with English translation by W.C. Wright, Philostratus and Eunapius, 1922).

Eunapius was educated under the rhetorician Praeresius and was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries. Eunapius was an ardent opponent of Christianity. He also wrote a supplement to the Chronological History of Publius Herennius Dexippus, continuing the history from ad 270 to 404. Of this work only fragments remain.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.