Altheides (1193–1262) was a

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

philosopher, primarily known from sayings attributed to him in the works of others. Little is known about the wandering philosopher known as Altheides of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, and little of his work remains available to modern scholars. His parents were Greek merchants living on the island under the rule of

Guy of Lusignan Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150 – 18 July 1194) was a French Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of Lusignan and as such born of the House of Lusignan. He was king of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and King ...

. He was born a year before Guy's death, in 1193. At some point in his late teens he left

as a seaman on a Moorish trading vessel.

Altheides the philosopher

Altheides again turns up in historical records with the founding of his School of Philosophy in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 1226, under the rule of

al-Kamil Al-Kamil ( ar, الكامل) (full name: al-Malik al-Kamil Naser ad-Din Abu al-Ma'ali Muhammad) (c. 1177 – 6 March 1238) was a Muslim ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Cr ...

, the nephew of

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

and ruler of

. His school was never particularly successful, and dispersed shortly after

's treaty of 1229 signing the city back over to the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. From this point very little is known. Scattered accounts and writings appear here and there in as varied locations as

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. Altheides died near his childhood home on

in 1262.

Works

Altheides never wrote a serious philosophical work or treatise and is primarily known for his many wise sayings, primarily found in other works written in the early thirteenth century.

We are running towards a precipice; we can but hope that when we reach the edge we shall be able to fly. f education and training, Jerusalem, 1227/blockquote>
If anyone asks you if you can do something, have only two answers: 'yes' and 'not yet.' erusalem, 1227/blockquote>
A clever man is capable of solving puzzles, and a knowledgeable man knows many answers. But only a wise man knows which puzzles to solve and which questions to ask. f human perception of intelligence, Athens, 1236/blockquote>
Life is full of boundaries; a life lived within them is a life not worth living at all. thens, unknown year/blockquote>

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altheides 1193 births 1262 deaths 13th-century philosophers Cypriot writers 13th-century Greek people