Cratippus of

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

( grc-gre, Κράτιππος), was a leading

Peripatetic Peripatetic may refer to: *Peripatetic school, a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece *Peripatetic axiom * Peripatetic minority, a mobile population moving among settled populations offering a craft or trade. *Peripatetic Jats There are several ...

philosopher of the 1st century BC who taught at

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...

and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. The only aspects of his teachings which are known to us are what

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

records concerning divination.

Life

Cratippus was a contemporary and friend of

who had a very high opinion of him, for he declared Cratippus to be the most distinguished of the Peripatetics that he had known, and thought him at least equal to the greatest of his school. Cratippus lived for a time at Mytilene, and accompanied

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

in his flight after the Battle of Pharsalia, endeavouring to comfort and rouse him by philosophical arguments. Several eminent Romans, such as M. Marcellus and Cicero himself, were taught by him, and in 44 BC Cicero's son was his pupil at

, and was tenderly attached to him. Young Cicero seems also to have visited Asia in his company. When

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

was at the head of the Roman republic, Cicero obtained from him

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

for Cratippus, and also induced the council of the

Areopagus The Areopagus () is a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Its English name is the Late Latin composite form of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated "Hill of Ares" ( grc, Ἄρειος Πάγος) ...

at Athens to invite the philosopher to remain in the city and to continue his instructions in philosophy. Although Cicero speaks of him as the leading philosopher of the

Peripatetic school The Peripatetic school was a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece. Its teachings derived from its founder, Aristotle (384–322 BC), and ''peripatetic'' is an adjective ascribed to his followers. The school dates from around 335 BC when Aristo ...

, it is not certain if he was the

scholarch A scholarch ( grc, σχολάρχης, ''scholarchēs'') was the head of a school in ancient Greece. The term is especially remembered for its use to mean the heads of schools of philosophy, such as the Platonic Academy in ancient Athens. Its fir ...

. After the murder of Caesar,

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

, while staying at Athens, also attended the lectures of Cratippus.

Teachings

Although Cicero had a high opinion of the knowledge and talent of Cratippus, his philosophical opinions are unknown, apart from allusions to his opinions on divination, on which he seems to have written a work. Cicero states that Cratippus believed in

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

s and supernatural inspiration ( la, furor) but that he rejected all other kinds of divination.Cicero, ''De Divinatione'', i. 3, 32, 50, 70, 71, ii. 48, 52; Tertullian, ''de Anim.'' 46. He seems to have held that, while motion, sense and appetite cannot exist apart from the body, thought reaches its greatest power when most free from bodily influence, and that divination is due to the direct action of the divine mind on that part of the human soul which is not dependent on the body.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cratippus of Pergamon Hellenistic-era philosophers from Anatolia Roman-era Peripatetic philosophers 1st-century BC Greek people 1st-century BC philosophers Roman-era philosophers in Athens Ancient Lesbos People from Pergamon Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown