Polyaenus of Lampsacus

Polyaenus of Lampsacus (in Greek Πoλύαινoς Λαμψακηνός; ca. 340–278 BC), son of Athenodorus, was an ancient Greek mathematician and a friend of Epicurus. His friendship with Epicurus started after the latter's escape from Mytilene in 307 or 306 BC when he opened a philosophical school at Lampsacus associating himself with other citizens of the town, like Pythocles, Colotes, and Idomeneus. With the other fellow citizens previously cited he moved to Athens, where they founded a school of philosophy with Epicurus as head, or "hegemon", while Polyaenus, Hermarchus and Metrodorus were "kathegemones". A man of mild and friendly manners, as Philodemus refers, he adopted fully the philosophical system of his friend, and, although he had previously acquired great reputation as a mathematician, he now maintained with Epicurus the worthlessness of geometry. [Cicero, "De finibus", [http://www.epicurus.info/etexts/De_Finibus.html i. 6] ; "Academica", ii. 33] [Diogenes Laertius, "Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers", [http://classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlphaedo.htm ii.105] , [http://www.epicurus.info/etexts/Lives.html x. 12] ] But the statement may be at least doubted, since it is certain Polyaenus wrote a mathematical work called Aπoριαι in which the validity of geometry is maintained. It was against this treatise that another Epicurean, Demetrius Lacon, wrote "Unsolved questions of Polyaenus" (in Greek Πρὸς τὰς Πoλυαίνoυ ἀπoρίας) in the 2nd century BC. Like Epicurus, a considerable number of spurious works seem to have been assigned to him; one of these was "Against the Rhetors", whose authenticity was attacked both by Zeno of Sidon and his pupil Philodemus. Polyaenus has been one of the authors found in the library in the Villa of the Papyri near Herculaneum, opening the road to the discovery of fragments of his works believed lost forever.

References

*Polyaenus, "Polieno. Frammenti", A. Tepedino Guerra (Italian translation), Napoli, (1991)
*Smith, William; "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology", [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2775.html "Polyaenus (2)"] , Boston, (1867)

Notes