The Greek language as an element of the Roman order and integration with peoples outside the imperial administration in Flavius Philostratus’s work

Abstract

This article aims to show the importance of the Greek language as an elementof order and integration within and outside the administrative boundaries of the RomanEmpire. To illustrate this we will show Flavius Philostratus’s view in his works Life ofApollonius of Tiana and Lives of the Sophists, written by the Greek sophist in the middleof the 3rd century CE. We also seek to understand the reasons for Philostratus’s view,linked to the group he was part of, the Greek sophists, and also related with the context inwhich he lived, the period of the Severan dynasty (193-235), the first Eastern dynasty torule the Roman Empire, and a moment of intense conflicts with the Parthian and Persianpeoples. Our research was developed using methods and concepts of the New CulturalHistory, which allow us to think about the relations of power linked to elements of culture.