Epiphanius
11. Described as SCHOLASTICUS.
Sixtus of Sena calls him a Greek, but Ceillier (Auteurs Sacrés, vol. xvi.) and Cave (Hist. Lit. vol. i. p. 405) call him an Italian. He lived about the beginning of the sixth century.
Works
Translator of Didymus on Proverbs and on Seven of the Canonical Epistles
He was the friend of Cassiodorus [CASSIODORUS], at whose request he translated from Greek into Latin the Commentary of Didymus on the Proverbs and on Seven of the Canonical Epistles [DIDYMUS, No. 4.].
Exposition of Solomons Song
He also translated at Cassiodorus' request the Exposition of Solomon's Song, said by Cassiodorus to be by Epiphanius of Constantia or Salamis. Garetius thinks this exposition was probably written by Plilo of Carpasus or Carpathus; but Foggini vindicates the title of Epiphanius to the authorship.
Other possible translations
Whether Epiphanius Scholasticus was concerned in the translation of the Jewish Antiquities of Josephus, and of the Notes on some of the Catholic Epistles, from the writings of Clement of Alexandria, which Cassiodorus procured to be made, can only be conjectured, as Cassiodorus does not name the translators.
A Catena on the Psalms
Sixtus of Sena ascribes to Epiphanius Scholasticus a Catena (or compilation of comments) on the Psalms, from the Greek Fathers; but we know not on what authority.
Ecclesiastical Histories
His principal work was translating and combining into one the Ecclesiastical Histories of Sozomen, Socrates, and Theodoret. The Historia Tripartita of Cassiodorus was digested from this combined version.
Codex Encylius
He also translated, by desire of Cassiodorus, the Codex Encylius, a collection of letters, chiefly synodal, in defence of the council of Chalcedon.
Editions
This collection has been reprinted in the Concilia of Binius, Labbe, Coletus, and Harduin, but most correctly by the last two.
Editions
The version of the Commentary of Didymus on the Canonical Epistles is said [DIDYMUS, No. 4] to be that given in the Bibliotheca Patrum; but that on the Proverbs has not, we believe, been printed; the versions of Epiphanius, Josephus, and Clement of Alexandria, have been printed.
That of Epiphanius on Solomon's Song was first published by Foggini, at Rome, in 1750, with a preface and notes.
Further Information
Cassiodorus, Praef. in Histor. Tripart., De Institutione Divinar. Literar. cc. 5, 8, 11, 17, with the notes of Garetius; Sixtus Senensis, Bibliotheca Sancta, lib. iv.; Fabric. Biblioth. Med. et Inf. Latinitatis, vol. ii. p. 101, ed. Mansi, Biblioth. Graec. vol. vii. p. 425, vol. viii. p. 257, vol. xii. p. 299; Cave, Ceillier, and Foggini, ll. cc.)
Beside the foregoing, there are many persons of the name of Epiphanius of whom little or nothing is known but their names. The ecclesiastics of the name, who appear in the records of the ancient councils, may be traced by the Index in Labbe's Concilia, vol. xvi.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.