Lives of the Sophists. Lives of Philosophers and SophistsTwo sophists on the history of sophistry. Flavius Philostratus, known as "the Elder" or "the Athenian," was born to a distinguished family with close ties to Lesbos in the later second century, and died around the middle of the third. A sophist who studied at Athens and later lived in Rome, Philostratus provides in Lives of the Sophists a treasury of information about notable practitioners. His sketches of sophists in action paint a fascinating