Favorinus of Arelate

Life and Background

Favorinus of Arelate (modern Arles in southern France) was a prominent Second Sophistic orator and philosopher of the 2nd century CE. Born around 80 CE in Roman Gaul, he rose from provincial origins to become a celebrated figure in the intellectual life of the Roman Empire. Ancient testimonies describe him as Gaulish by birth, Greek by education, and Roman by citizenship, reflecting the cosmopolitan character of the period.

Little is known of his early life, but he appears to have studied in Greek-speaking centers, acquiring an exceptional command of Attic Greek and a broad education in philosophy, grammar, and law. He spent significant time in Rome, where he attracted elite audiences and moved in circles that included the emperor Hadrian. Ancient reports, notably from Philostratus, highlight both his success and his vulnerability at court: Favorinus is said to have incurred Hadrian’s displeasure and experienced a period of exile or withdrawal from public life, though details remain uncertain.

A distinctive feature of Favorinus’ ancient biographical profile is the repeated claim that he was intersex or eunuch-like in body, yet capable of rhetorical “manliness” and intellectual authority. Sources such as Aulus Gellius refer to his physical atypicality, and modern scholars debate how literally these descriptions should be taken, and how they intersect with ancient norms of gender, bodily difference, and performance of masculinity.

Favorinus survived into the later reign of Antoninus Pius, and seems to have died sometime after 150 CE, probably in Rome. His life illustrates the social opportunities available to gifted provincial intellectuals under the High Empire, as well as the risks associated with imperial favor and the highly competitive world of sophistic performance.

Works and Sources

No complete work by Favorinus survives, but he was once an extraordinarily prolific author. Ancient catalogues and references attribute to him:

• Philosophical works, including Miscellaneous Discourses and treatises on ethics and epistemology
• Rhetorical and grammatical writings, clarifying points of language and style
• Historical and antiquarian studies, dealing with Roman customs, law, and religion

Modern knowledge of Favorinus depends largely on fragments and testimonies preserved by later authors:

• Aulus Gellius, in his Attic Nights, is the chief source, quoting Favorinus at length on grammar, logic, moral questions, and legal interpretation.
• Philostratus, in Lives of the Sophists, provides biographical anecdotes and situates Favorinus within the Second Sophistic.
• Dio Chrysostom, Suidas (the Suda), and various scholiasts and grammarians preserve shorter notices and fragments.

From these materials, scholars reconstruct Favorinus as a polymath whose written output combined scholarly commentary with public-facing oratory. His lost works on Plato and Aristotle suggest serious engagement with philosophical tradition, even if his style was more dialogical and rhetorical than systematically doctrinal.

Philosophical Outlook and Rhetoric

Favorinus is often associated with skeptical currents of Middle Platonism and the legacy of Academic Skepticism. While he did not found a school or leave a canonical system, several characteristic themes emerge from the fragments:

1. Qualified Skepticism and the Limits of Knowledge
   Favorinus regularly emphasizes the fallibility of human judgment and the difficulty of attaining certainty. He praises the ability to argue pro and contra on the same question, not as mere sophistry but as an educational exercise that reveals the complexity of phenomena. This stance places him in the line of the New Academy, which recommended suspension of judgment (epochē) where evidence is inconclusive.

2. Everyday Ethics and Civic Life
   Many of his surviving discussions concern concrete topics—friendship, anger, the duties of a citizen, the interpretation of laws. He tends to frame ethics not as metaphysical doctrine but as a matter of prudent reasoning about particular cases. In Aulus Gellius, Favorinus frequently appears advising moderation, self-scrutiny, and attention to social context, aiming at a cultivated, adaptable character rather than a rigidly dogmatic virtue theory.

3. Language, Grammar, and Correct Usage
   Favorinus devoted extensive attention to lexicography and syntax, debating the correct forms and meanings of words. For him, language is not merely a tool but a field in which rational discrimination and cultural memory are exercised. His engagement with Attic purity in Greek exemplifies the broader Second Sophistic concern with revisiting classical models as a standard for contemporary eloquence.

4. Paradox and Intellectual Play
   Ancient writers describe Favorinus as a master of paradoxical discourse—defending seemingly implausible theses or turning common assumptions on their head. This fascination with paradox fits both his skeptical orientation and his sophistic milieu, where dazzling audiences through unexpected arguments was a hallmark of success. At the same time, his paradoxes often carry a didactic function, inviting reflection on how easily confident beliefs can be unsettled.

Overall, Favorinus’ thought integrates philosophy and rhetoric. He treats argumentation style, linguistic nuance, and ethical deliberation as continuous facets of a single intellectual practice. Some modern interpreters argue that this blurs the line between philosophy and performance; others contend that it exemplifies how philosophy functioned as a lived, public art in the High Roman Empire.

Legacy and Reception

Favorinus did not establish a lasting philosophical school, but his impact is evident in several domains:

• Influence on Aulus Gellius: Gellius’ Attic Nights preserves so much of Favorinus that the two are sometimes studied together. Through Gellius, later Latin readers encountered Favorinus’ skeptical tendencies, his grammatical expertise, and his anecdotes about Roman law and custom.
• Role in the Second Sophistic: Philostratus counts Favorinus among the major sophists of the age, alongside figures like Herodes Atticus and Dion of Prusa. He stands as an example of how provincial elites could use Greek paideia to participate in an empire-wide culture of performance, learning, and prestige.
• Modern Scholarship on Gender and Identity: Reports of Favorinus’ atypical body have attracted attention from historians of gender and sexuality. Some scholars read him as a case study in how ancient societies accommodated or problematized non-normative embodiments within elite culture, especially when coupled with rhetorical and intellectual authority.
• Reception in Intellectual History: Though overshadowed by more systematic philosophers, Favorinus interests historians as a mediating figure: he channels Platonic and skeptical traditions into a Roman, rhetorically sophisticated environment. His career helps illuminate the broader interaction between Greek philosophy and Roman imperial society.

Because his works survive only in fragments, interpretations of Favorinus remain provisional and debated. Nonetheless, he is widely regarded as a significant representative of the learned, skeptical, and cosmopolitan intellectual style that characterized philosophical and rhetorical life in the early 2nd century CE.