Herodes Atticus was a Greek aristocrat, orator, and public figure in the 2nd century CE during the Roman Empire. He was a leading member of the Second Sophistic, a cultural movement that revived classical Greek language and learning. Born into immense wealth in Athens around 101 CE, he received a top-tier education in rhetoric and rose to the highest levels of Roman political life, serving as a consul in 143 CE and even tutoring the future emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

He is perhaps best known as a monumental public benefactor. He funded the construction of major buildings across Greece, including the Odeon theatre on the Athenian Acropolis, a stadium at Delphi, and a fountain at Olympia. His life was also marked by personal tragedy and public legal disputes, one of which was famously heard by Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He died around 177 CE.

Although celebrated in his time as a master of classical Attic oratory, his own writings have not survived. Ancient sources praise his skill in spontaneous speech, but only the title of one work, On the State, is known; the text itself is lost. His significance therefore rests on his role as a cultural model. According to modern scholars, his career perfectly illustrates the fusion of Greek intellectual culture and Roman political power. He was a bridge between the two worlds: a Greek intellectual who shaped the physical and educational landscape of his homeland while holding the highest offices in Rome.