The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Galen of Pergamum
AD 129 – c. 216 · Physician & philosopher · Observer of the Christians · Pergamum → Rome
External witness
Who Galen of Pergamum was
The empire's greatest physician, who noted with a scientist's mixture of scorn and respect that the Christians, though reasoning 'from parables,' attained in contempt of death and in self-mastery 'deeds not inferior to genuine philosophers.' The Little Labyrinth complains that the Roman adoptionists all but worshipped him.
Within Christian literature, the Little Labyrinth's gibe only ('they adore Galen'); his own remarks on Christians survive in his corpus and the Arabic tradition.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When did Galen live?
Galen of Pergamum is dated AD 129 – c. 216 in the archive, which places Galen in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). 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 Galen?
Galen of Pergamum is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Anonymous (via Eusebius). Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Galen from?
The archive associates Galen of Pergamum with Pergamum, Rome. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Galen’s contemporaries?
The archive links Galen of Pergamum to 2 other figures, including Theodotus the Cobbler and Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Little Labyrinth, via Ecclesiastical History V.28
c. AD 325They have abandoned the holy scriptures of God for geometry… Euclid is laboriously measured by some of them, Aristotle and Theophrastus admired — and Galen, perhaps, by some is even worshipped.Anonymous (via Eusebius) · V.28 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Galen, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.