Proklos the Sophist held the position of grammateus — civic secretary — at Smyrna during the early Antonine period, and his name appears on a tight cluster of municipal bronzes issued under Marcus Aurelius. The title "sophist" here is not ornamental: Smyrna was aggressively competitive with Ephesus and Pergamon for cultural prestige, and advertising a sophist-magistrate on coinage was a deliberate civic statement about the city's intellectual standing.
Aelius Aristides, the most celebrated sophist of the age, was based at Smyrna during precisely this window.
Proklos the Sophist held the position of grammateus — civic secretary — at Smyrna during the early Antonine period, and his name appears on a tight cluster of municipal bronzes issued under Marcus Aurelius. The title "sophist" here is not ornamental: Smyrna was aggressively competitive with Ephesus and Pergamon for cultural prestige, and advertising a sophist-magistrate on coinage was a deliberate civic statement about the city's intellectual standing.
Aelius Aristides, the most celebrated sophist of the age, was based at Smyrna during precisely this window.