Gellius, Aulus
Gellius, Aulus,Roman miscellanist, born between AD 125 and 128, author of Noctes Atticae (‘Attic Nights’) in twenty books. Internal evidence suggests publication c.180; an apparent echo in Apuleius' Apology, sometimes used to support an earlier date, can be otherwise explained. A probable reference in Fronto apart, all knowledge of Gellius comes from his work: reconstruction of his life depends on the assumption, so far unfalsified, that his anecdotes, even if fictitious, are not anachronistic. There are slight but uncertain indications that he came from a Roman colony in Africa: however, most of his life was spent at Rome. He studied with Sulpicius Apollinaris, and knew Fronto; but the deepest impression was made on him by Favorinus. He spent at least a year in Athens completing his education as a pupil of Calvenus Taurus; he visited Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes in his summer retreat at Cephisia, attended the Pythian Games of...
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