  One such form is the dialogue. The philosophical dialogue endured throughout the whole Byzantine era, even if perhaps it did not flourish as abundantly as in the contemporary West. By and large, it seems possible to divide the extant specimens into two subcategories: Plato pastiche and Lucian pastiche. In the latter subcategory belongs the early 12th-century satire Timarion, which offers some amusing mockery of contemporary or near-contemporary philosophy professors like Michael Psellos, John Italos, and Theodore of Smyrna. The elenctic dialogue in Plato’s style seems to have been considered particularly useful for polemical purposes. Many dialogues in this subcategory have a more theological than philosophical content, but Theodore Prodromos’ (c. 1100–1170) relatively good-humoured Xenedemus, or, Predicables, and Nikephoros Gregoras’ (1293/94–1360/61) rather more virulent Phlorentius, or, On Wisdom are two conspicuous exceptions. A particularly intriguing example is Hermippus, or, On Astrology: this attempt at a reconciliation between the belief in astral influence over the natural world and the Christian doctrines of divine providence and human free will is one of three anonymous dialogues, probably from the early 14th century, which have been variously attributed to Nikephoros Gregoras, John Aktouarios and John Katrones (or Katrarios) (Hohlweg 1995).