Papias, along with Ignatius and Polycarp, was considered among the disciples of John, perhaps even his scribe. He later became bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor.  The tradition that he was John's scribe may have come from the fact that Papias was a compiler of the sayings and teachings of Jesus, which made up his Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord, in five books, which he presumably published sometime around 130 A.D.  Unfortunately, only fragments of this work have survived. As few as they are, these fragments provide a glimpse into the material in circulation to which John referred: "Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book" (John 20:30, CEV); (see also John 21:25). Their influence seems to have continued even after the Gospels were written, providing a glimpse of the oral tradition that survived. Jerome, in his Lives of Illustrious Men 18 quotes the Preface to Papias' work:

I used to inquire about what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew, or any other of the Lord's disciples, and what Aristion and John the Elder, disciples of the Lord, were saying. For books to read are not as useful to me as the living voice sounding out clearly up to the present day in the persons of their authors.

Papias would seem to be at least as important a figure as Ignatius and Polycarp. And yet, little is known about him, his birth, or his death. Perhaps this is because he did not suffer martyrdom as they did and therefore did not attain the same level of fame or notoriety posthumously. Most of what we learn about Papias comes from Eusebius and Irenaeus. Eusebius is critical of Papias, whereas Irenaeus uses Papias to support his own millennial teaching of chiliasm - the literal 1000-year reign of Christ on earth.  But Papias is also interesting because of what he has to say concerning the origin and authorship of the Gospels.  He speaks of an original Aramaic version of the Gospel of Matthew, which existed before the Greek one.  He also mentions Peter as the main source for Mark's information regarding the Gospel of Mark. It is Eusebius' reading of the Papias Preface, however, which has provided the most controversy. The controversy concerns the authorship of the Fourth Gospel and of Revelation.
 
Eusebius asserted, on the basis of the Papias quote given above, that there were two Johns at Ephesus: one known as John the apostle who wrote the Gospel, and the other John the elder who is referred to in 2nd and 3rd John and who also wrote the Revelation (See Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.39.1-8). Since the Gospel itself leaves its authorship an open question, there is legitimate room for speculation as to John's identity. However, there is nothing to prevent viewing these two Johns listed in Papias' writings as the same person—especially considering the antipathy of Eusebius towards the Book of Revelation being included in the canon he enumerates.