The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

It is already clear according to the [above] discussion that the grammarian
Epaphroditus fulfills all the conditions that we are to place upon Josephus’ patron. As this was
a man ἅπασαν ἰδέαν παιδείας ἠγαπηκὼς, so also Suidas’ Epaphroditus belonged to the circle
τῶν ὀνομαστῶν ἐν παιδείᾳ. Even more than this somewhat general description of his
character, the fact that Josephus’ patron had been exposed to such diverse strokes of fate
indicates that he at one point had the occasion to put his physical strength to the test and that
he ultimately became completely absorbed in pure questions of education [Bildungsfragen] (Ant.
1.8). Such a truly exceptional path of life was followed in every way by the grammarian
Epaphroditus, who started as a slave from Chaeronea, went through Egypt, then became a
widely respected teacher in Rome, and who, similarly to Josephus’ patron, was distinguished
by his formidable physique; for Josephus’ words ἐν ἅπασι δὲ θαυμαστὴν φύσεως ἐπιδειξάμενος
ἰσχὺν correspond to Suidas’ description τὸ δὲ σῶμα ἦν μέγας τε καὶ μέλας ὡς ἐλεφαντώδης.
The emphasis on this characteristic, that does not have anything at all to do with the
intellectual interests for which Josephus and Suidas mention their Epaphroditus, is crucial. It is
simply out of the question that there were two scholarly Epaphroditoi in Rome around the
year 100 who were distinguished by their formidable physique in such a way that this is
mentioned in two sources – totally independent from each other. 16 On the contrary, it is
obvious that M. Mettius [29] Epaphroditus was a giant in stature by southern standards, and
that this characteristic appeared so strange in the man who ultimately became a teacher of
languages and a friend of literature, that one automatically could not avoid emphasizing it.
Should there still remain a doubt about the equivalence of the two Epaphroditoi in the
face of this astonishing correspondence, then it must be dispelled by the following
16 The sitting figure of M. Mettius Epaphroditus (Bernoulli, Griechische Ikonographie 2, plate 28)
shows us a man with a formidably thickset build and powerful muscles. One may easily believe
Josephus that this Epaphroditus could evidence a physical strength that was not otherwise
customary among scholars; not less striking is the description ὡς ἐλεφαντώδης in Suidas. The
legs are certainly represented as heavy and clumsy. If the transmission is even accurate, Suidas
has mistakenly read the “size” of the body into the word ἐλεφαντώδης of his source. In truth,
it is not its size but its strength and clumsiness that are characteristic of an elephant. Thus I
have no doubt that the statue in the Palazzo Altieri represents the grammarian and patron of
Josephus. Since the figure belongs to the Antonine period and stems from a freedman of
Epaphroditus who probably intended it for a library or school, there is no difficulty with
respect to chronology. Incidentally, Bernoulli (loc. cit. page 201) correctly presumes the
identity of Josephus’ friend and the grammarian, yet without substantiating it in the face of
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