Asclepiades ( Ancient Greek: Ἀσκληπιάδης) was a writer of ancient Egypt who possessed, according to the Suda, a profound knowledge of Ancient Egyptian religion, and wrote hymns on his native gods. [1]
He also composed a work upon the agreement among the different religions, Synthesis of All Theologies (τῶν θεολογιῶν ἁπασῶν ἡ συμφωνία), a second on the history of Egypt, and a third on the mythological ruler Ogyges. [2] The sixtieth book of his history of Egypt is quoted by the grammarian Athenaeus. [3]
Many scholars believe that this Asclepiades is the same as the one whom the historian Suetonius calls the author of Theologizing (Θεολογούμενα) and of whom he quotes a fragment. [4] [5] This work seems like it might be the same as Synthesis of All Theologies.
Suetonius calls him "Asclepiades Mendes" which seems to be a toponymic surname derived from the name of a town in Egypt. [6] [7] [8]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain:
Schmitz, Leonhard (1870).
"Asclepiades (7)". In
Smith, William (ed.).
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. p. 381.