Figure
Antony the Great
One of the first hermits of the Egyptian desert
c. 251 – 356 CE
His birth year is approximate and rests on the biography by Athanasius.
Biography
A young man from a village in Middle Egypt who gave up his property and withdrew into the desert. Many disciples gathered round him, and his biography by the patriarch Athanasius became one of the most widely read books in the Christian world, spreading the idea of monasticism.
Key facts
Certainty: Established
Athanasius’ "Life of Antony" spread the model of the desert hermit across the Christian world.
- Athanasius of Alexandria “Life of Antony (4th century CE)”
- Otto F. A. Meinardus (1999) “Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity” American University in Cairo Press