Philiscus of Aegina

For other people with the same name, see Philiscus.

Philiscus of Aegina (Ancient Greek: Φιλίσκος Αἰγινήτης; 4th century BC) was a Cynic philosopher from Aegina who lived in the latter half of the 4th century BC. He was the son of Onesicritus who sent Philiscus and his younger brother, Androsthenes, to Athens where they were so charmed by the philosophy of Diogenes of Sinope that Onesicritus also came to Athens and became his disciple.[1] According to Hermippus of Smyrna, Philiscus was the pupil of Stilpo.[2] He is also described as an associate of Phocion.[3] The Suda claims that he was a teacher of Alexander the Great,[4] but no other ancient writer mentions this. Aelian, though, has preserved a short exhortation by Philiscus addressed to Alexander:

Take care of your reputation; don't become a plague or a great disaster, bring peace and health.[5]

The Suda mentions that Philiscus wrote dialogues including one called Codrus.[2] Satyrus claimed that the tragedies ascribed to Diogenes were, in fact, written by Philiscus.[6] Among the dialogues ascribed to Diogenes by Sotion, one is entitled Philiscus.[7]

Notes

  1. Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 75; Suda, "Philiskos", φ 362
  2. 1 2 Suda, "Philiskos", φ 359
  3. Suda, "Philiskos", φ 362
  4. Suda, "Philiskos", φ 359. There are, in addition, chronological problems with a man being the son of Onesicritus, the pupil of Stilpo, and the teacher of Alexander.
  5. Aelian, Varia Historia, xiv. 11
  6. ap. Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 80, cf. vi. 73
  7. Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 80
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.