Callistratus, Greek sophist

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...

 and rhetoric

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...

ian, probably flourished in the 3rd (or possibly 4th) century AD. He wrote Ekphraseis (also known by the Latin title Statuarum descriptiones), descriptions

Ecphrasis

Ekphrasis or ecphrasis is the graphic, often dramatic, description of a visual work of art. In ancient times it referred to a description of any thing, person, or experience...

 of fourteen works of art in stone or brass by distinguished artists. This little work, which is written in a dry and affected style, without any real artistic feeling, is usually edited with the Eikones

Imagines (work by Philostratus)

Imagines is a work in Ancient Greek in two volumes describing and explaining various artworks. The first volume is generally attributed to Philostratus of Lemnos, or possibly to his more famous father-in-law Philostratus of Athens. The second volume is by the grandson of Philostratus of Lemnos,...

of Philostratus (whose form it imitates).