History and Fantasy on Acholius, the Biographer

Abstract

Among the bogus authors cited in the Historia Augusta, there are some who turn out to be masks for real authors, as part of the picaresque aspect of the work. However, the vast majority are simply disregarded as the product of the biographer’s invention. One of them is Acholius, an author cited on four occasions. We believe that there are reasons to include him in the first group.