who was surnamed Trallianus, was born in Trallis a city of Lydia. He was the emperor Hadrian's freed man, and lived to the 18th year of Antoninus Pius; as is evident from his mentioning the consuls of that year. He wrote several works of great erudition, of which we have nothing left but fragments. Among these was a History of the Olympiads, A Treatise of Long-lived Persons, and another of Wonderful Things; the short and broken remains of which Xylander translated into Latin, and published at Basil in 1568, with the Greek and with notes. Meursius published a new edition of them with his notes at Leyden, in 1622. The titles of part of the rest of Phlegon's writings are preserved by Suidas. It is supposed that the History of Hadrian, published under Phlegon's name, was written by Hadrian himself, from this passage of Spartianus: "Hadrian thirsted so much after fame (says he), that he gave the books of his own life, drawn up by himself, to his freedmen, commanding them to publish those books under their own names; for we are told that Hadrian wrote Phlegon's books."

Phlegon's name has been more familiar among the moderns, and his fragments have had a greater degree of regard paid to them than perhaps they deserve, merely because he has been supposed to speak of the darkness which prevailed during our Lord's passion. The book in which the words are contained is lost; but Eusebius has preserved them in his Chronicon. They are these: "In the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was a greater and more remarkable eclipse of the sun than any that had ever happened before: for at the fifth hour the day was so turned into the darkness of night, that the very stars in the firmament were visible; and there was an earthquake in Bithynia which threw down many houses in the city of Nicaea." Eusebius thinks that these words of Phlegon related to the prodigies which accompanied Christ's crucifixion; and many other fathers of the church have thought the same: but this opinion is liable to many difficulties; for no man had ever a stronger desire than Phlegon to compile marvellous events, and to observe the supernatural circumstances in them. How was it then possible that a man of this turn of mind should not have taken notice of the most surprising circumstance in the eclipse which it is imagined he hints at, viz. its happening on the day when the moon was at the full? But had Phlegon done this, Eusebius would not have omitted it; and Origen would not have said that Phlegon had omitted this particular.

It was a matter of controversy some time ago, whether Phlegon really spoke of the darkness at the time of our Lord's passion; and many dissertations were written on both sides of the question. This dispute was occasioned by the above passage from Phlegon being left out in an edition of Clarke's Boyle's Lectures, published after his death, at the instance of Sykes, who had suggested to Clarke, that an undue stress had been laid upon it. Whitton, who informs us of this affair, expresses great displeasure against Sykes, and calls "the suggestion groundless." Upon this, Sykes published "A Dissertation on the Eclipse mentioned by Phlegon: or, 'An Inquiry whether that Eclipse had any relation to the darkness which happened at our Saviour's Passion; 1732,' 8vo." Sykes concludes it to be most probable that Phlegon had in view a natural eclipse which happened November 24, in the first year of the 202nd Olympiad, and not in the 4th year of the Olympiad in which Christ was crucified. Many pieces were written against him, and to some of them he replied; but perhaps it is a controversy which concerns the learned world merely, since the cause of religion is but little affected by it.

Photius blames Phlegon for expatiating too much on trifles, and for collecting too great a number of answers pronounced by the oracles. "His style (he tells us) is not altogether flat and mean, nor does it everywhere imitate the attic manner of writing. But otherwise, the over nice accuracy and care with which he computes the Olympiads, and relates the names of the contests, the transactions, and even oracles, is not only very tiresome to the reader, whereby a cloud is thrown over all other particulars in that book, but the diction is thereby rendered unpleasing and ungrateful; and indeed he is every moment bringing in the answers pronounced by all kinds of deities."