The Russell Brand of ancient Greece

The “lifestyle guru” Russell Brand is now under police investigation and (in desperation?) has taken to hawking magic amulets. Still, it has to be better than his announcement that he had become a Christian. As the Greek satirist Lucian pointed out, such a move did little good for one such would-be “celeb” (Latin celeber, “busy, crowded”), Peregrinus.

He was born c. AD 95 and, suspected of killing his father, went into exile. In Palestine he linked up with a group of Christians and soon became a figure of some authority, a prophet and church-leader widely admired for his understanding (and invention) of scriptures. Lucian, commenting on how easily people are fooled, claims that he became revered as a god “next to that man who was crucified in Palestine and started it all.” He was thrown into prison. This made him even more popular. “Followers” poured in from all over to load him with money, defend him and get him released. The Roman governor agreed, fed up with the hassle and aware that Peregrinus longed to be martyred. (When Christians approached the governor of Asia in AD 185 demanding martyrdom, he infuriated them by saying they could use ropes and cliffs themselves.)

Realizing sadly that his quest for fame as a martyr had ended, Peregrinus mounted his soap-box as a Cynic philosopher instead. In this role he gave away all his money, became an ascetic, went to Rome, denounced all things Roman (including the emperor Antoninus Pius) and generally made a nuisance of himself. The city prefect finally threw him out.

Back in Greece he settled down to teach philosophy to a large following in Athens, urging (among much else) the Greeks to attack Rome. At the Olympic Games of AD 161 he announced that at the next Games he would do a Heracles and build a pyre into which he would leap “to teach people to despise death.” This was too good to miss. The crowds rolled up (including Lucian), most of them urging him to jump. After several delays, he
did so, leaving Lucian to reflect on the grip that the desire for celebrity had on mankind.

So just how far will you go, Russ, for “celebrity?”

This article was originally published in The Spectator’s January 2025 World edition.