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Claudius Rufinus Sophistes was a sophist of ancient Rome, of the Second Sophistic tradition. He lived in Smyrna in Asia Minor during the 2nd century. In his earliest references, he is called simply "Rufinus", then, starting around 200 CE "Claudius Rufinus", and from about 208 onwards, "Claudius Rufinus Sophistes".

Rufinus was a respected member of the community, having come from a long line of respected sophists. He had been granted an exemption from all taxes, duties, and service, by the Roman emperor, and was known to be a generous benefactor, donating several public buildings.

He was elected strategos of Smyrna during the reign of Gordian I, and he features prominently on the coinage of this city during this period. As a sophist and rhetor, he was the teacher of the sophist Hermocrates of Phocaea. He was also possibly the dedicatee of the book Sophistic Preparations by Phrynichus Arabius.

He also features in the story of the martyrdom of Pionius, as one of Pionius's questioners.

When he died, he was honored as an extremely prominent citizen, with a public funeral, commemorative games, and a sumptuous tomb.

References

1. Barnes, Timothy David (2010). Early Christian Hagiography and Roman History. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 74–75. ISBN 9783161502262. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
2. Fox, Robin Lane (1988). Pagans and Christians. Harper & Row. p. 466. ISBN 9780060628529. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
3. ^ Kendrick, M. Gregory (2014). The Heroic Ideal: Western Archetypes from the Greeks to the Present. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 46. ISBN 9780786457519. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
4. Burden-Strevens, Christopher (2020). Cassius Dio's Speeches and the Collapse of the Roman Republic. Brill Publishers. p. 23. ISBN 9789004431362. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
5. ^ Bowie, Ewen (2023). "Greek Poetry in the Antonine Age". Essays on Ancient Greek Literature and Culture. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 286. ISBN 9781107058125. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
6. Dmitriev, Sviatoslav (2005). City government in Hellenistic and Roman Asia minor. Oxford University Press. p. 264. ISBN 9780195170429. Retrieved 2024-12-22.

• Roman-era Sophists
• 2nd-century Romans
• 2nd-century philosophers
• Claudii