Arignotus
Arignotus (Ancient Greek: Ἀρίγνωτος) was a Pythagorean in the time of Lucian—that is, the 2nd century CE—who was renowned for his wisdom, and had the surname of ἱερός ("the holy").[1] He is described as telling a story of a time he exorcised a demon that was haunting a home.[2]
Arignotus is described as shabby and dirty, wearing his hair long and having a grave expression. Modern scholars have suggested that there was not a historical person with this name, but that "Arignotus" represents a popularly known type of the time, and is essentially a stand-in for Pythagoras himself.[2] Other scholars disagree with this hypothesis.[3]
There is an unrelated, otherwise unknown Arignotus mentioned in Aeschines's speech Against Timarchus.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ Lucian, Philopseudeis c. 29, &c.
- ^ a b Dickie, Matthew (2003). Magic and Magicians in the Greco-Roman World. Psychology Press. pp. 196, 204, 208. ISBN 9780415311298. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
- ^ Ogden, Daniel (2007). "The Love of Wisdom and the Love of Lies: The Philosophers and Philosophical Voices of Lucian's Philopseudes". In Morgan, John Robert; Jones, Meriel (eds.). Philosophical Presences in the Ancient Novel. Ancient narrative. Vol. 10. Barkhuis. p. 196. ISBN 9789077922378. ISSN 1574-5066. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
- ^ Aeschines (2011). Wolpert, Andrew; Kapparis, Konstantinos (eds.). Legal Speeches of Democratic Athens: Sources for Athenian History. Hackett Publishing. p. 257. ISBN 9781603846066. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William (1870). "Arignotus". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. p. 285-286.