Procopius of Gaza (Greek:Προκόπιος;c. 465 – 528) was aChristiansophist andrhetorician, one of the most important representatives of theRhetorical School of Gaza.[1][2][3]
The little that is known of him is to be found in his letters and theencomium by his pupil and successorChoricius. Like many other members of the Rhetorical School of Gaza, he studied inAlexandria and then became a teacher for rhetorics in Gaza although otherAntioch,Tyre andCaesarea Maritima vied for his service.[4]
He was the author of numerous rhetorical and theological works but hispanegyric on the Roman EmperorAnastasius I Dicorus is the only work that has survived.
His letters (163 in number), addressed to persons of rank, friends, and literary opponents, throw valuable light upon the condition of the sophistical rhetoric of the period and about the academic circles in Alexandria and Gaza.[4]
Procopius' theological writings consist of commentaries on theOctateuch, the books ofKings andChronicles,Isaiah, theProverbs, theSong of Songs andEcclesiastes. They are amongst the earliest examples of the "catenic" (catena, chain) form of commentary, consisting of a series of extracts from the fathers, arranged, with independent additions, to elucidate the portions of Scripture concerned.Photius (cod. 206), while blaming the diffuseness of these commentaries, praises the writer's learning and style, which, however, he considers too ornate for the purpose. He also wrote a monody on theearthquake of Antioch in 526 AD in and anekphrasis of a clock in Gaza.[4]
Complete editions of the works of Procopius inMigne,Patrologia Graeca, lxxxvii; the letters also inEpistolographi graeci, ed.R. Hercher (1873); see alsoK. Seitz,Die Schule von Gaza (1892);L. Eisenhofer,Procopius von Gaza (1897); further bibliographical notices inK Krumbacher,Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur (1897), and article by G. Kruger inHerzog-Hauck's Realencyclopädie für protestantische Theologie (1905).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Procopius of Gaza".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 419.