Demetrius, friend

Otherwise little attested; known chiefly as the recipient of five letters from Libanius, the celebrated pagan rhetorician and teacher of Antioch (314-c.393 AD). The name Demetrius was common, and several men of that name appear in Libanius's vast correspondence, so this figure cannot be securely identified with any one of them on present evidence. He was most plausibly a member of Libanius's wide social and professional circle in the eastern Roman provinces in the later fourth century AD - perhaps a former pupil, a fellow notable, or a local official - but no specific office, dates, or events are securely known. Any biography beyond his role as one of Libanius's correspondents would be conjecture.