Both philosopher and mystic, Sosipatra (fl. fourth century CE) was a remarkably accomplished woman who offered her teachings to a carefully selected circle.
What we know of Sosipatra’s life comes from a single source: Eunapius of Sardis’ Lives of the Sophists. Born between 345 and 349, Eunapius received an education in rhetoric and philosophy. In this work, he sought to trace the history of his intellectual lineage. Sosipatra had been the teacher of his own teacher, and he therefore regarded her as a crucial figure within that tradition. His portrayal thus reveals as much about his philosophical ideal as it does about Sosipatra herself.
The exact dates of Sosipatra’s birth and death were not recorded. She was likely active during the early to mid fourth century CE and was therefore roughly contemporary with the mathematician and philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria.
Sosipatra was born in Ephesus into an elite family. When she was five years old, two itinerant workers arrived at her father’s estate. Under their care, the vineyards flourished as never before. To thank them, Sosipatra’s father invited the two men to dine with him. Upon meeting the young girl, they were struck by her potential and offered to educate her, on the condition that she remain with them on the estate for five years.
When her father returned at the end of that period, he found his daughter profoundly changed, to the point that he believed her divine. The two men were said to be masters of Chaldean lore, an ancient Babylonian wisdom tradition focused on rituals and astrology. Eunapius’ account suggests that they were not ordinary humans but higher spirits. When they departed, they entrusted Sosipatra with their books and ritual instruments.
A key aspect of this story is Sosipatra’s extraordinary learning. Eunapius writes that "she had on her lips the books of the poets, philosophers, and orators” and could grasp even the most difficult texts with ease. She also seems to have possessed considerable mathematical knowledge.
When the time came, Sosipatra chose her own husband. She married Eusthatius, a man trained in philosophy who pursued a career in diplomacy. According to Eunapius, her exceptional wisdom made her husband appear “inferior and insignificant” by comparison.
At the time of their marriage, Sosipatra prophesied that she would give birth to three sons within five years and that upon his death, Eusthatius’ soul would rise directly to the moon. She added that her own soul would ascend even higher.
Eunapius portrays Sosipatra as clairvoyant and sometimes seized by divine inspiration. He describes her as capable of seeing events unfolding at great distances, a form of remote vision.
By emphasizing her connection with the divine, Eunapius also contrasts Sosipatra with the Christian ideal of holy womanhood. She was not an ascetic, and her wisdom required no renunciation. She was neither a virgin nor withdrawn from the world, but a wife and a mother.
Sosipatra and Eusthatius indeed had three sons. After five years, Eusthatius either died or separated from her, the sources are unclear. It was after this turning point that Sosipatra began her teaching activity.
Sosipatra moved to Pergamum, where she managed her estates. She associated herself with the philosopher Aedesius, who had once been her husband’s teacher and who helped her raise her sons. There, she opened a school of philosophy within her own home.
Platonist and Neo-Pythagorean traditions included a number of women who led philosophical lives. Iamblichus, for example, appended a list of seventeen renowned Pythagorean women to his On the Pythagorean Way of Life.
Sosipatra’s teaching was reserved for a small circle of Aedesius’ most promising students. She was said to have engaged in a friendly rivalry with Aedesius himself. Her instruction was highly sought after, as Eunapius notes:
“and there was no one who did not greatly love and admire the accuracy of Aedisius in what he said, and did not adore and revere the divine inspiration of the woman.”
None of Sosipatra’s writings have survived, and the precise content of her teachings remains elusive. They appear, however, to have included reflections on the nature of the soul.
Of her three sons, two became lawyers. Only one, Antoninus, followed in his mother’s philosophical footsteps. He eventually settled in a temple in Egypt, where he devoted himself to philosophy and ritual practice.
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Addey Crystal, “Reception of Diotima in later Platonism”, The Routledge Handbook of Women and Ancient Greek Philosophy
Marx Heidi, Sosipatra of Pergamum: Philosopher and Oracle
Watts Edward J., Hypatia: The Life And Legend Of An Ancient Philosopher
