Phaedo of Elis

Phaedo of Elis was a (4th century BC) Greek philosopher and founder of the Elean School. Phaedo was a native of Elis, born in the last years of the 5th century BC. In the war of 401 BC-400 BC between Sparta and Elis he was taken prisoner and became a slave in Athens in a boy bordello, where his beauty brought him notoriety. [Diogenes Laërtius, ii. 105] He became a pupil of Socrates, who conceived a warm affection for him and had him freed. It appears that he was friends with Cebes and Plato, and he gave his name to one of Plato's dialogues, "Phaedo" (Aeschines also wrote a dialogue called "Phaedo"). Athenaeus relates, however, that he resolutely denied the veracity of any of the views which Plato ascribed to him, and that his relationship with Plato was quite unfriendly.

Shortly after the death of Socrates, Phaedo returned to Elis, where his disciples included Anchipylus, Moschus and Pleistanus, who succeeded him. Subsequently Menedemus and Asclepiades transferred the school to Eretria, where it was known as the Eretrian school and is frequently identified (e.g. by Cicero) with the Megarians. The doctrines of Phaedo are not known, nor is it possible to infer them from the Platonic dialogue of which he is the namesake. His writings, none of which are preserved, were in the form of dialogues. As to their authenticity, nothing is known, in spite of an attempt at verification by Panaetius, [Diogenes Laertius, ii. 64] who maintains that the "Zopyrus" and the "Simon" are genuine. Seneca has preserved one of his "dicta", [ Seneca, "Epistles", 94. 41] namely that one method of acquiring virtue is to frequent the society of good men.

Notes

References

*1911

External links

*Diogenes Laërtius, [http://classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlphaedo.htm "Life of Phaedo"]