Synesius, Bishop of Ptolemais in the Libyan Pentapolis, acted also the various parts of soldier, diplomatist, orator, philosopher, and poet. Born at Cyrene about 375 A.D., the contemporary of Augustine, he took pride in tracing his descent from the Heraclidae, the royal family of Sparta, who first colonised the Pentapolis, and inherited wealth and estates in the interior. He studied at Alexandria under Hypatia (q.v.), whose influence over him proved a dominant and lifelong one. He used to turn to her for advice when in difficulty, and for sympathy when in trouble. He also studied in Athens, which disappointed him; and he returned to the Pentapolis, resolved to spend his life in study and in the pursuits of a country gentleman. Of hunting in particular he was passionately fond. About 399 he was appointed by his fellow-citizens a delegate from Cyrene to bring certain grievances before the Emperor Arcadius at Constantinople. He remained in that city for three years. In his speech 'On Kingship' Synesius warns Arcadius sternly of the perilous nature of the times, and points out the duties of a good king. During his stay at Constantinople a revolution took place, Arcadius was driven out by the Scythian general Gainas, and Aurelian, leader of the national party, banished. While waiting for an audience Synesius wrote a curious book entitled Concerning Providence. In the form of an allegory he describes the contest between Aurelian and Gainas, under the veil of a conflict between Osiris and Typhon, who personify Good and Evil; and deals with the question why God permits evil, and delays so long to interfere. In a few weeks Gainas fell, Synesius attained the end of his mission, and sailed for home. The voyage from Alexandria was a perilous one, which Synesius describes in a long and delightful letter. The next eight years were a time of peace and happiness for Synesius; 'books and the chase,' he writes, 'make up my life.' About 403 he married a wife belonging to Alexandria. During these years he wrote his treatise Concerning Dreams, a half-burlesque essay, The Praise of Baldness (he was bald himself), his Dion, or on Self-discipline, setting forth his ideal of the philosopher, the second part of his book on Providence, several Hymns, and a great many letters. This peaceful period was interrupted by war. The Libyan nomads made raids upon the fertile Pentapolis; there were no soldiers at Cyrene, but Synesius raised a troop of volunteers. The helpless governor Cerealius fled; Cyrene was besieged, and Synesius had to organise and direct the defence of the city.
Up to this time Synesius appears before us as a man of letters, steeped in Greek literature and philosophy, and standing quite outside of Christianity. Doubtless the horrors of war and barbarian invasion forced upon his mind the weakness of Neoplatonism. In 409 the people of Ptolemais, fearing the appointment of a corrupt governor, fixed on Synesius as their bishop. Synesius was most unwilling; in Ep. 105 he tells his difficulties and scruples; but at last he yielded, and was consecrated at Alexandria in 410. From this time to his death his life was burdened and weighed down by constant private troubles and public calamities. On his return to Ptolemais he found the new governor Andronicus playing the tyrant, boldly excommunicated him, and secured his recall. As a bishop Synesius acted with great prudence and decision, yet his conscience troubled him, and he felt he had been presumptuous in undertaking such an office. The Ausurians invaded the country, and Synesius had again to spend his nights on the ramparts and direct the defence. His only surviving child died. Synesius was broken with troubles, and both his philosophy and his religion appeared to fail him in his need. The city was relieved, but he fell ill; and about 413 he died. His last letter was written to Hypatia, who retained all his old affection and reverence. His last Hymn, with its humble prayer for deliverance from indwelling sin, contrasts strongly with the Neoplatonic doctrines of the earlier hymns. Hypatia's name for him, 'the good of other people,' indicates the unselfishness of his nature. His 156 letters reveal to us a character fascinating in many ways, a man open-eyed, of high spirit and awake to every call of duty, sound and healthy in body and mind, passionately fond at the same time of intellectual pursuits and of sport, not without vanity, but with no sensual element. In many ways he reminds us of Charles Kingsley. The Hymns show Synesius as the poet of Neoplatonism; their keynote is the longing of the soul to rise to intellectual communion with God.
See editions by Turnebus (1553), Migne (text inaccurate; 1859), German trans. by Krabinger, accompanied by revised text and notes (1825-50), and books on Synesius by Druon, Sur la Vie et les Œuvres de Synesius (1859), and Volkman (1869). In T. R. Halcomb's article (Dr Smith's Dictionary of Christian Biography) his philosophical and religious belief, and in Miss A. Gardner's book (S.P.C.K., 1886) his relation to the history of the time, are excellently described.