Raffi

Prohaeresius Raffi

In his last novella, renowned Armenian novelist Raffi takes the reader to late antiquity Athens to introduce the Greco-Armenian philosopher, Prohaeresius. Little known to the modern world, Prohaeresius was among the most famed philosophers and orators of his day, with statues erected in his honor in Athens and Rome, and honors from the Byzantine court. Prohaeresius was also an illustrious and sought-after educator, teaching Saints Basil of Caesarea and Gregory the Theologian.

Here, Raffi imagines a meeting between Prohaeresius and the Father of Armenian Literature, Movses Khorenatsi, where Movses implores Prohaeresius to return to Armenia to help the country face grave dangers. Interspersed with lines from ancient Armenian historical sources, this edition includes the first translation of Prohaeresius, the original Armenian text and "The Life of Prohaeresius," the only surviving contemporary biography of Prohaeresius by his student Eunapius (translated from Ancient Greek).