Second Sophistic

The Second Sophistic is a literary-historical term referring to the Greek writers who flourished from the reign of Nero until c. 230 AD and who were catalogued and celebrated by Philostratus in his Lives of the Sophists (481). However, some recent research has indicated that this Second Sophistic, which was previously thought to have very suddenly and abruptly appeared in the late 1st century, actually had its roots in the early 1st century. It was followed in the 5th century by the philosophy of Byzantine rhetoric, sometimes referred to as the "Third Sophistic."

Writers known as members of the Second Sophistic include Nicetas of Smyrna, Aelius Aristides, Dio Chrysostom, Herodes Atticus, Philostratus, Lucian, and Polemon of Laodicea. Plutarch is also often associated with the Second Sophistic movement as well, although many historians consider him to have been somewhat aloof from its emphasis on rhetoric, especially in his later work.

The year 146 BC marks the moment in history in which the Romans conquered one of the first civilized empires in the West. Ancient Greece is known for its rich culture, mythology, technology and intellect. In its Classical Period it was one of the greatest early empires. After the civilization fell to the Roman Conquest, the emerging empire would begin to grow following many of the traditions of the Greeks. Mirroring some of their architectural styles and adapting a similar religious cult, the Empire held the Greek culture with reverence to its customs. Throughout its growth, the Romans incorporated the Greeks into their society and imperial life. In the 1st and 2nd centuries AD a renaissance of Hellenic oratory and education captivated the Roman elites. The resurgence was called the Second Sophistic and it recalled the grand orators and teachings of the 5th century BC. “The sophist was to revive the antique purer form of religion and to encourage the cults of the heroes and Homeric gods.”

In this century, the Roman Emperors such as Trajan, Hadrian and numerous others, held these intellectuals in their high esteem. Many of them paid patronage to Athens and other Greek cities in the Empire. Elites sent their sons to be educated in schools developed by these sophists. The Emperor Hadrian sent his ‘son’ Antoninus to study under the acclaimed Polemo in Smyrna. The Second Sophistic opened doors for the Greeks to prosper surprisingly, in many ways on their own terms. This renaissance enabled them to become a prominent society that the Romans could respect and revere. The sophists and their movement provided a way for the Romans to legitimatize themselves as civilized intellectuals and associate themselves with an old imperial pre-eminence. This movement allowed the Greeks to become a part of the Roman Empire but still retain their cultural identity.

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