Career
We possess by Aphthonius the Προγυμνάσματα, a textbook on the elements of rhetoric, with exercises for the use of the young before they entered the regular rhetorical schools. They apparently formed an introduction to the Τέχνη of Hermogenes of Tarsus. Aphthonius" style is pure and simple, and ancient critics praise his "Atticism." The book maintained its popularity as late as the 17th century, especially in Germany.
A collection of forty fables by Aphthonius, after the style of Aesop, is also extant.