Pamprepius of Panopolis (Παμπρέπιος ὁ Πανοπολίτης) was a 5th-century CE pagan poet and grammarian from Egypt. After studying and teaching in Athens, he secured the patronage of the general Illus in Constantinople, where he was appointed to a public professorship (διδάσκαλος τῶν ποιητῶν). His career became entwined with Illus’s rebellion against Emperor Zeno; Pamprepius served as an advisor and used divination to predict success. The revolt failed, and Pamprepius was killed by Illus’s brother-in-law, Trocundes, during the siege of Papirius in Isauria in 484 CE [1][2][3].

No poetic works by Pamprepius survive. The 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia, the Suda, records that he wrote a patria of Constantinople and other verses, but these are lost [1][2].

Pamprepius exemplifies the continued political influence of pagan intellectuals in the Christian Eastern Roman Empire. His life is historically significant for its close association with high politics and revolt, illustrating how a scholar’s fate could be determined by the volatile loyalties of the late antique world [1][2][3].

Sources 1. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics (Oxford University Press): https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-4657 2. Suda On Line (via ToposText): https://topostext.org/work/240#pi.142 3. De Imperatoribus Romanis (Loyola University Chicago): https://roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/zeno.htm