Sopater of Apamea was a distinguished sophist and Neoplatonist philosopher.

He was a disciple of Iamblichus, after whose death (c. 325), he went to Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, where he enjoyed the favour and personal friendship of Constantine I

Constantine I

Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...

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The Suda

Suda

The Suda or Souda is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often...

 lists that he wrote variety of works, including one On Providence, and another called People who have Undeserved Good or Bad Fortune. He is distinguished from another sophist of that name "Of Apamea ... (Or rather, of Alexandria)", who wrote epitomes of very many authors and probably also the Historical Extracts, of which Photius has preserved a summary, from which it appears that it contained a vast variety of fact and fiction, collected from a great number of authors.

Sozomenus relates an "an invention of persons who desired to vilify the Christian religion", that Constantine asked Sopater for purification after having killed his son Crispus

Crispus

Flavius Julius Crispus , also known as Flavius Claudius Crispus and Flavius Valerius Crispus, was a Caesar of the Roman Empire. He was the first-born son of Constantine I and Minervina.-Birth:...

 and that Sopater denied him.

Sopater was one of many who were put to death by Constantine, sometime before 337. Zosimus

Zosimus

Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...

 ascribes his death to the machinations of Ablabius

Ablabius (consul 331)

Flavius Ablabius or Ablavius was a high official of the Roman Empire.- Life :Ablabius belonged to a poor, Pagan family, and originated from Crete. He converted to Christianity. He later become vicarius of Asia province...

. 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...

 alleges that Sopater was charged with detaining by magical arts a fleet laden with grain

GRAIN

GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...

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External links

• Eunapius, Lives of the Sophists