Fronto of Cirta

When did Fronto live?

Fronto of Cirta is dated c. AD 100 – c. 167 in the archive, which places Fronto in the Apologists (AD 130–180). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention Fronto?

Fronto of Cirta is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Aulus Gellius, Minucius Felix (in Caecilius's speech) and Minucius Felix. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Fronto from?

The archive associates Fronto of Cirta with Cirta, Numidia, Rome. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Who were Fronto’s contemporaries?

The archive links Fronto of Cirta to 2 other figures, including Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Minucius Felix. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

[Gellius reports a conversation on the names of colours held at Fronto’s bedside — the fullest picture we have of the orator among his friends.]

The Noctes Atticae of Aulus Gellius, twenty books of miscellany compiled in Latin c. AD 170, in which Fronto appears as a living interlocutor. Standard text with facing translation: John C. Rolfe, Loeb Classical Library, three volumes (1927), public domain.

And of their banqueting it is well known everywhere what is spoken of — as the speech of our Cirtan testifies.