Cyrus the Rhetorician (Κῦρος ὁ Ῥητορικός) was an author of the Roman Imperial period, likely active in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. No biographical details survive beyond his name, which is attached solely to a single extant rhetorical work.

His only known work is the funeral oration On the Death of the Emperor (Περὶ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ βασιλέως). This text is a declamation for an unnamed Roman emperor, surviving in a single manuscript. It is considered a rhetorical exercise (meletē) rather than an oration for a real contemporary event [1].

The significance of Cyrus lies entirely in this declamation, which exemplifies the epideictic rhetoric and educational practices of the later Second Sophistic. It demonstrates the adaptation of traditional Greek rhetorical forms to the Roman imperial context within a fictional scenario.

Sources 1. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0625%3Asection%3D1