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Synesius’ Encomium calvitii can be interpreted as an excellent example of late-antique satyr, which aims to denounce the decline of contemporary society by criticising its most prominent members; philosophers, rhetoricians, religious people, soldiers, romanized barbarians, characters of dubious morality. The conceptual complexity and the ideological proximity to the De Regno and the Dio confirm the opinion of modern scholars that the work is a product of the writer’s intellectual ripeness that can be dated to the years 403-404 CE.

Lucian loves to manipulate iconic literary types with biographical details of contemporary celebrities thereby creating an intriguing dialectical exchange between fantasy and reality. Following this pattern, the main character of the Hermotimus both descends from the immortal philosophers of comedy and reveals some traits of the ‘philosopher in purple’ Marcus Aurelius. If the highlighted similarities between the image of Hermotimus and Marcus Aurelius’ life and are convincing, it becomes possible to suggest dating the dialogue to around 176 AD.

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