Alexandra (Greek: Άλεξάνδρα, flourished 4th century) was a Greek noblewoman.

Little is known on the origins and life of Alexandra. Alexandra was from the city of Antioch and her brother was a certain Calliopius[1] a rhetor who served as a grammaticus and assistant-teacher under Libanius, and later, ca. 388, served as a magister epistolarum in the imperial court.[2]

Alexandra married a wealthy rhetor called Seleucus.[3] Alexandra bore Seleucus two known children:

  • Daughter Olympias, born in 361,[4] who later became a great Christian saint.[5] It is possible, however, that Olympias was the daughter of an otherwise unknown man named Seleucus.[6]
  • Either a son or daughter, who was a parent of Olympias and Seleucus[7]

Alexandra is known as one of the correspondents from the surviving letters of Libanius as her husband was an intimate friend of Libanius, Julian and Calliopius.[8] She was a cultivated woman, in which Libanius highly praised and admired her.[9]

In 361 Alexandra remained in Antioch, while her husband was in Euphratensis, on imperial business[10] on behalf of Constantius II and later Julian the Apostate. In 362, Alexandra accompanied Seleucus to Cilicia in Anatolia where Julian sent Seleucus there, as the emperor made him either high-priest or perhaps Roman governor in that province.[11]

Libanius thanked Alexandra for slaves she sent to him as a gift, but bemoans the fact that they arrived without an accompanying letter.[12] After this moment, no more is known of her.

References

  1. ↑ Jones, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260-395, p.818
  2. ↑ Jones, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260-395, p.175
  3. ↑ Jones, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260-395, p.p.175&818
  4. ↑ Jones, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260-395, pp. 642-643
  5. ↑ Budge, Paradise of the Holy Fathers Part 1, p.163
  6. ↑ Jones, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260-395, p.818
  7. ↑ Moret, Sertorius, Libanios, iconographie: a propos de Sertorius, journée d'étude, Toulouse, 7 avril 2000 [suivi de] autour de Libanios, culture et société dans l'antiquité tardive : actes de la table ronde, Avignon, 27 avril 2000, p.207
  8. ↑ Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian
  9. ↑ Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.193
  10. ↑ Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.193
  11. ↑ Jones, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260-395, Parts 260-395, p.818
  12. ↑ Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, p.194

Sources

  • A.H.M. Jones, J.R. Martindale & J. Morris, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press, 1971
  • E.A. Wallis Budge, Paradise of the Holy Fathers Part 1, Kessinger Publishing, 2003
  • P. Moret & B. Cabouret, Sertorius, Libanios, iconographie: a propos de Sertorius, journée d'étude, Toulouse, 7 avril 2000 [suivi de] autour de Libanios, culture et société dans l'antiquité tardive : actes de la table ronde, Avignon, 27 avril 2000, Presses Univ. du Mirail, 2003
  • Selected Letters of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, Liverpool University Press, 2004
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