The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Miltiades the Apologist
fl. c. AD 160–190 (death unrecorded) · Apologist · Anti-Montanist writer · Asia Minor → Rome(?)
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Miltiades the Apologist was
A second-century man of letters who fought on every front at once: books against the pagans and against the Jews, an Apology addressed to 'the rulers of the world,' and a treatise insisting that a true prophet does not speak in ecstasy — the argument that made him a chief target of Montanist counter-polemic. Distinct from the later Pope Miltiades; the coincidence of names has hidden him from catalogues ever since.
Also listed in heretics & schismatics.
Common questions
When was Miltiades active?
Miltiades the Apologist is dated fl. c. AD 160–190 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Miltiades 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.
What did Miltiades write?
Miltiades the Apologist has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Apology, and Against the Montanists. All are lost, known only from later citation.
Which early sources mention Miltiades?
Miltiades the Apologist is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Miltiades from?
The archive associates Miltiades the Apologist with Asia Minor, Rome(?). The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
Apology, and Against the Montanists
An apology to the rulers and treatises against Greeks, Jews, and the New Prophecy — all lostMiltiades has left monuments of his own zeal for the divine oracles. (after Eusebius, HE V.17)Lost — known only from later citation.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Ecclesiastical History V.17
c. AD 325Miltiades… has left monuments of his own zeal for the divine oracles — writing that a prophet ought not to speak in ecstasy.Eusebius of Caesarea · V.17 · source text
On Illustrious Men 39
c. AD 393Miltiades… wrote a notable volume against the gentiles and the Jews, and an Apology to the then ruling emperors.Jerome · 39 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
- AD 117 · Symeon and Ignatius martyred, AD 117
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Miltiades, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Asia Minorprovince only
- 2Rome