(), surnamed THEODORUS, one of the most
celebrated Greek rhetoricians of the second century after Christ, was the son of Eudaemon, a
priest of Zeus, and born at Adriani in Mysia, according to some in Vit. Sopsh. 2.9; Suidas,
s. v.
Orat. fun. in
Alex. p. 80, ed. Jebb.) After being sufficiently prepared for his profession, he
travelled for some time, and visited various places in Asia, Africa, especially Egypt, Greece,
and Italy. The fame of his talents and acquirements, which preceded him everywhere, was so
great, that monuments were erected to his honour in several towns which he had honoured with
his presence. (Aristeid. Orat. Aegypt. ii. p. 331, &c.; Philostr. Vit. Soph. 2.9.1.) Shortly before his return, and while yet in Italy, he was
attacked by an illness which lasted for thirteen years. He had from his childhood been of a
very weakly constitution, but neither this nor his protracted illness prevented his
prosecuting his studies, for he was well at intervals; and in his "Sermones Sacri" (Serm. Sacr. ii. p. 304,
iv. p. 324, &c.) He had great influence with the emperor M. Aurelius, whose acquaintance
he had formed in Ionia, and when in Vit. Solp. 2.9.2; Aristeid. Epist. ad M. Aurel. et Commod. i. p. 512.) Various other honours and
distinctions were offered to him at Smyrna, but he refused them, and accepted only the office
of priest of Asclepius, which he held until his death, about Anthol. Planud.
p. 376) he is regarded as a native of Smyrna. The memory of Aristeides was honoured in several
ancient towns by statues. (Liban. Epist. 1551.) One of these representing
the rhetorician in a sitting attitude, was discovered in the 16th century, and is at present
in the Vatican museum. The museum of Verona contains an inscription to his honour. (Visconti,
Iconograph. Grecq. i. plate xxxi. p. 373, &c.; Bartoli, Dissert. Sul. Museo Veronese, Verona, 1745, 4to.)
The works of Aristeides extant are, fifty-five orations and declamations (including those
which were discovered by Morelli and Mai), and two treatises on rhetorical subjects of little
value, viz. Opuscul. ii. p. 129,
&c.) A list of the orations extant as well as of the lost works of Aristeides, is given
in Fabricius (Bibl. Gr. vi. p. 15, &c.), and more completely by
Westermann. (Gesch. der Griech. Beredtsasmk. p. 321, &c.)
Aristeides as an orator is much superior to the majority of rhetoricians in his time, whose
great and only ambition was to shine and make a momentary impression by extempore speeches,
and a brilliant and dazzling style. Aristeides, with whom thought was of far greater
importance than the form in which it appeared, expressed the difference between himself and
the other rhetoricians, at his first interview with the emperor, M. Aurelius, by saying,
Vit. Soph. 2.9.2;
Sopat. Proleg. in Aristid. p. 738, ed. Dind.) He despised the silly
puns, the shallow witticisms and insignificant ornaments of his contemporaries, and sought
nourishment for his mind in the study of the ancients. In his panegyric orations, however, he
often endeavours to display as much brilliancy of style as he can. On the whole his style is
brief and concise, but too frequently deficient in ease and clearness. His sentiments are
often trivial and spun out to an intolerable length, which leaves the reader nothing to think
upon for himself. His orations remind us of a man who is fond of hearing himself talk.
Notwithstanding these defects, however, Aristeides is still unsurpassed by any of his
contemporaries. His admirers compared him to Demosthenes, and even Aristeides did not think
himself much inferior. This vanity and self-sufficiency made him enemies and opponents, among
whom are mentioned Palladius (Liban. Epist. 546), Sergius, and
Porphyrius. (Suid. s. vv.)
But the number of his admirers was far greater, and several learned grammarians wrote
commentaries on his orations. Besides Athanasius, Menander, and others, whose works are lost,
we must mention especially Sopater of Apamea, who is probably the author of the Greek
Prolegomena to the orations of Aristeides, and also of some among the Scholia on
Aristeides,which have been published by Trommel (Scholia in Aristidis
Orationes, Frankf. Collectanea Historica Aristidis aevumn et vitam spectantia, ordine chronologico digesta, in the edition of Jebb, and reprinted in that of Dindorf.
Animadversiones in Auct. Graec. vol. iii.