Bryson of Achaea

Bryson of Achaea, (or Bryson the Achaean) was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived c. 330 BCE.

Very little information is known about him. He was said to have been a pupil of Stilpo [Diogenes Laërtius, ix. 61. Diogenes Laërtius literally says that Bryson was the "son of Stilpo."] and Clinomachus,Suda, "Pyrrhon"] which would mean that he was a dialectician of the Megarian school of philosophy. He was said to have taught Crates the Cynic, [Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 85] [Suda, "Krates"] Pyrrho the Skeptic, [Diogenes Laërtius, ix. 61] and Theodorus the Atheist. [Suda, "Theodoros"]

He is not to be confused with Bryson of Heraclea, the sophist who was a contemporary of Socrates. The "Suda", in its entry on Socrates, [Suda, "Sokrates"] is probably confusing the two Brysons when it refers to Bryson of Heraclea:

Bryson of Heraclea introduced eristic dialectic after Euclides, whereas Clinomachus augmented it, and whereas many came on account of it, it came to an end with Zeno of Citium, for he gave it the name Stoic, after its location, this having occurred in the 105th Olympiad; [360-357 BC] but some [say that] Bryson was a student not of Socrates but of Euclides; Pyrrho was also a student of his...

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