News of Antony of Egypt, especially his sacrificial solitude, spread widely long before he died. At Rome, Marcella, a wealthy noblewoman already widowed at age 17, heard about him around 340, and in response, turned her mansion into an ascetic community devoted to prayer and Bible study. Other Roman matrons followed her pioneering example.

But when Athanasius, who had been one of those who told Marcella about Antony, put Antony's story down in writing, Antony's influence became greater still. As Athanasius told his readers at the beginning of his Life of Antony, "I feel that, once you have heard the story, you will not merely admire the man but will wish to emulate his commitment as well."

Within a decade or so of publication, a Latin version (Athanasius wrote the Life in Greek) had been published and a copy came into the hands of two Roman officials in Trier, a prosperous regional center in what is now part of Germany.

As one ancient account records, "One of them began to read it. He was ...

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