By Anastassios D. Retzios
Many of you have heard of the theater of Herod Atticus near the Acropolis of Athens. But, you may not know who Herod Atticus actually was. Before I go on and give you a brief biographical note for Herod Atticus, let me preface it by stating that he was as close to the model of a “Europeanizing” Greek as one could get in antiquity. He was born at the end of the 1st century CE, a scion of a prominent Athenian family with substantial connections to the Roman administration. He was a very good friend of Emperor Hadrian, who actually appointed him governor of the Roman province of Asia (western Anatolia). Eventually, he got married into the imperial family. He moved to Rome for a period of time and acquired a lot of property in the Italian peninsula. He was appointed consul of the Roman Empire (one of the two holding office annually) by emperor Antoninus Pius, in 143. This was the highest office in the Empire one could aspire to (if one did not lead a rebellion). It was a major honor, achieved only by a few members of the Senatorial class (of which, Herod Atticus was a member).
