3. Nicolaus Myrepsus (Νικόλαος ὁ Μυρεψός, or the ointment-maker), the author of a Greek pharmaceutical work, which is still extant.
He is probably the same physician who is mentioned by Georgius Acropolita as being eminent in his profession, but very ignorant of natural philosophy. (Hist. Byzant. 39, p. 34, ed. Paris. 1651.) He was at the court of Joannes III. Vatatzes at Nicaea, when the eclipse of the sun took place (Oct. 6. 1241), that shortly preceded the death of the empress Irene. Here he was held in great esteem by the emperor, and attained the dignity of Actuarius (id. ibid.; see Dict. of A t. p. 611b.). All this agrees very well with the scattered notices of his date and his personal history that we find in his own work. He mentions Mesie the younger (32.117, p. 706), who died A. D. 1015; "Michael Angelus regalis" (1.295, p. 420), who is probably the first emperor of the family of the Palaeologi, and began to reign A. D. 1260; "Papa Nicolaus" (2.9, p. 469), who seems to be Pope Nicholas III., who began to reign A. n. 1277; and "Dominus Joannes" (10.103, p. 575), and " Magister Johannes " (32.99, p. 703 ), who is probably Joannes Actuarius, who lived in the thirteenth century. He mentions his having visited or lived at Nicaea (24.12, p. 657), and also Alexandria (1.241, 17.17, pp 412, 612), whence he is sometimes called Nicolaus Alexandrinus.