Eustathius
Εὐστάθιος
(Εὐστάθιος.)
1. Bishop of ANTIOCH, was a native of Side, a town in Pamphylia, but according to Nicetas Choniates (5.9), he was descended from a family of Philippi in Macedonia. He was a contemporary of the emperor Constantine the Great, and was at first bishop of Beroea in Syria, but the council of Nicaea appointed him bishop of Antioch. (Nicet. Chon. 5.6.) At the opening of the council of Nicaea he is said to have been the first who addressed the emperor in a panegyric. (Theodoret, 1.7 ) Eustathius was a zealous defender of the Catholic faith, and a bitter enemy of the Arians, who therefore did everything to deprive him of his position and influence. A synod of Arian prelates was convened at Antioch, at which such heavy, though unfounded, charges were brought against him, that he was deposed, and the emperor sent him into exile to Trajanopolis in Thrace, in A. D. 329 or 330. (Socrat. 1.24; Sozomen, 2.19; Theodoret, 1.21; Philostorg. 2.7.) A long time after, his innocence and the calumnies of his enemies became known through a woman who had been bribed to bear false witness against him, and who, on her death-bed, confessed her crime; but it was too late, for Eustathius had already died in his exile. He is praised by the ecclesiastical writers as one of the worthiest and holiest men. (Athanas. Ep. ad Solit p. 629; Sozomen. 2.19.)
Eustathius was the author of several works.
A Work against Origen
A work against Origen, entitled Κατὰ Ὠριγένους διαγνωστικὸς εἰς τὸ ἐγγαστρομύθου θεώρημα, is mentioned by Hieronymus (de Script. illustr. 85; comp. Socrat. vi 13), and is undoubtedly genuine.
Editions
It is printed at the end of Allatius's edition of the commentary on the Hexaemeron.
Homilies and Interpretations of the Psalms
Eustathius wrote further Homilies, Epistles, and an Interpretation of the Psalms, of which some fragments are still extant.
Editions
These fragments are collected in Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ix. pp. 135-149.
Spurious works
Among those which now bear his name, there are two which can scarcely have been his productions.
1. Address to the Emperor Constantine
He is said to have delivered an address to the emperor Constantine at the council of Nicaea.
Editions
This is printed with a Latin version in Fabric. Bibl. Gr. vol. ix. p. 132, &c.
2. A Commentary on the Hexaemeron
A commentary, or ὑπόμνημα, on the Hexaemeron. This work is not mentioned by any ancient writer, and the only authority for ascribing it to Eustathius, is the MS. used by Allatius, in which it bears his name. But the work itself also contains proofs that it cannot have been written by Eustathius.
Editions
This was edited, with a Latin translation and copious notes, by Leo Allatius, Lugdun. 1629, 4to.
Further Information
Comp. Cave, Hist. Lit. i. p. 138, &c.
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.