Chrysanthius of Sardis was a Greek

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

 philosopher of the 4th century AD who studied at the school of Iamblichus.

He was one of the favorite pupils of Aedesius

Aedesius

Aedesius was a Neoplatonist philosopher and mystic born of a noble Cappadocian family.-Career:He migrated to Syria, attracted by the lectures of Iamblichus, of whom he became a follower. According to Eunapius, he differed from Iamblichus on certain points connected with theurgy and magic...

, and devoted himself mainly to the mystical side of Neoplatonism

Neoplatonism

Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...

. The emperor Julian

Julian the Apostate

Julian "the Apostate" , commonly known as Julian, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer....

 went to him by the advice of Aedesius, and subsequently invited him to come to the court and assist in the projected resuscitation of Hellenism

Hellenic polytheism

Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism refers to various reconstructionist movements that revive ancient Greek religious practices, emerging since the 1990s. Since 1997 the movement in Greece has been institutionalized under the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes...

. But Chrysanthius declined, citing the strength of unfavorable omens, though he probably realized the revival was unlikely to bear fruit.

For the same reason he abstained from drastic religious reforms in his capacity as high-priest of Lydia

Lydia

Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....

. As a result of his moderation, he remained high-priest until his death, venerated alike by Pagans

Paganism

Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....

 and Christians

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

. His wife Meite, who was associated with him in the priestly office, was a kinswoman of Eunapius

Eunapius

Eunapius was a Greek sophist and historian of the 4th century. His principal surviving work is the Lives of the Sophists, a collection of the biographies of twenty-three philosophers and sophists.-Life:He was born at Sardis, AD 347...

the biographer. Eunapius, who was related to Chrysanthius by marriage, tended to him in his old age and was devoted to him until his death.