Alexander of Cotiaeum Teacher, Exegete, Diorthotes

Abstract

Alexander of Cotiaeum, the cultivated sophistes and one among the teachers of Aelius Aristides and Marcus Aurelius, distinguished himself in linguistic and literary studies, teaching, and cultural communication. Though without achieving brilliant results, he also engaged in some of the questions previously discussed by the most learned scholars. This cultural figure displays some typicality with respect to the average educated personalities (grammatikoi) of the Antonine renaissance. However, current studies are revealing a possible specificity of Alexander’s role: his influence, by way of educational approach, on the making of literary trends and models (canons) of the concurrent high culture, between New Sophistic and Atticism. This paper focuses on the very philological side (diorthosis, or textual criticism) of the composite and complex intellectual profile of Alexander.