He met Pompey, the successful, young, Roman general who was nicknamed "the Great" (Magnus), when the latter was using Mytilene as a naval base against pirates in 67 BC, and became a member of his retinue.

[1] Theophanes was one of the most intimate friends of Pompey, whom he accompanied in many of his campaigns, and who frequently followed his advice on public as well as private matters.

[3] He was one of a group of cultured Greeks who accompanied Roman imperatores on their campaigns and acted as guides to an unfamiliar world, advisers, and sometimes chroniclers or panegyrists.

[1] Pompey held Theopanes in such high esteem that he presented him with Roman citizenship in the presence of his army, after a speech he eulogising his merits.

He represented the exploits of his hero in the most favourable light, and did not hesitate, as Plutarch more than hints, to invent a false tale for the purpose of injuring the reputation of an enemy of the Pompeian family.

From the likeness a marble portrait of the man has been identified as well as dozens of his images in relief on the bottom of special bowls perhaps made to celebrate his posthumous status.

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.Caroline Williams, Late Hellenistic Portrait Bowls from Mytilene, Echos du monde classique/Classical Views 42 (N.S.