ABSTRACT

Sosipatra, who is attested only in Eunapius' biographical work Lives of the Philosophers and Sophists, was a prophetess and philosopher, as well as an indirect successor of Iamblichus' philosophical school, in late antiquity. It is important to consider the methodological issues surrounding the portrayal of Sosipatra in Eunapius' work, which is largely anecdotal and hagiographical. None of Sosipatra's writings survive, though presumably she must have written some works as the head of a philosophical school. In relation to gender issues, Sosipatra is portrayed by Eunapius as a divine woman or holy woman. In relation to biographical representation, the romantic and legendary tone of Eunapius' account of Sosipatra has been noted. The story of the Chaldaean priests is clearly modelled on an ancient topos: the theoxenia, myths of humans being visited by the gods, such as the myth of Philemon and Baucis, who were visited in their Phrygian village by Jupiter and Mercury.