Lyco of Troas

Lyco (or Lycon) ( _el. Λύκων) of Troas, son of Astyanax, (lived c. 299-c. 225 BC), was a Peripatetic philosopher and the disciple of Strato, whom he succeeded as the head of the Peripatetic school, c. 269 BC; and he held that post for more than forty-four years.

Life

He resided at Pergamus, under the patronage of Eumenes I and Attalus I, from whom Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon in vain sought to entice him. On several occasions his counsel was of great service to the Athenians. He was celebrated for his eloquence, [comp. Cicero, "de Finibus", v. 5] and for his skill in educating boys. He paid great attention to the body as well as to the mind, and, constantly practising athletic exercises, was exceedingly healthy and robust. Nevertheless, he died of gout at the age of 74. He was a bitter rival of the Peripatetic philosopher Hieronymus of Rhodes. Lyco's most notable student in the Peripatetic school was Aristo of Ceos who may have succeeded him as head of the school.

Writings

Among the writings of Lyco was probably a work on Characters (similar to the work of Theophrastus), a fragment of which is preserved by Rutilius Lupus, [Rutilius Lupus, "de Figuris", ii. 7] though the title of the book is not mentioned by any ancient writer. It appears from Cicero [Cicero, "Tusculanae Quaestiones", iii. 32] and Clement of Alexandria, [Clement of Alexandria, "Stromata", ii.] that he wrote on the boundaries of good and evil ( _la. De Finibus). A work of his on the nature of animals is quoted by Apuleius. [Apuleius, "Apologia".] In his will, as preserved by Diogenes Laërtius, there is a reference to his writings, but no mention of their titles.

Further reading

*Fortenbaugh, W., White, S., "Lyco of Troas and Hieronymus of Rhodes: Text, Translation and Discussion". Transaction Publishers. (2004). ISBN 0-7658-0253-8

References

ources

*SmithDGRBM

External links

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