Polyaenus of Lampsacus ( ; grc-gre, Πoλύαινoς Λαμψακηνός, ''Polyainos Lampsakēnos''; c. 340 – c. 285 BCE), also spelled Polyenus, was an ancient

Greek mathematician Greek mathematics refers to mathematics texts and ideas stemming from the Archaic through the Hellenistic and Roman periods, mostly extant from the 7th century BC to the 4th century AD, around the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean. Greek mathe ...

and a friend of

Epicurus Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influence ...

Life

He was the son of Athenodorus. His friendship with

started after the latter's escape from

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 ...

in 307 or 306 BC when he opened a philosophical school at

Lampsacus Lampsacus (; grc, Λάμψακος, translit=Lampsakos) was an ancient Greek city strategically located on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been transmitte ...

associating himself with other citizens of the town, like Pythocles,

Colotes Colotes of Lampsacus ( el, Κολώτης Λαμψακηνός, ''Kolōtēs Lampsakēnos''; c. 320 – after 268 BC) was a pupil of Epicurus, and one of the most famous of his disciples. He wrote a work to prove "That it is impossible even to live a ...

, and

Idomeneus In Greek mythology, Idomeneus (; el, Ἰδομενεύς) was a Cretan king and commander who led the Cretan armies to the Trojan War, in eighty black ships. He was also one of the suitors of Helen, as well as a comrade of the Telamonian Ajax. ...

. With these fellow citizens he moved to

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 a ...

, where they founded a school of philosophy with

as head, or ''hegemon'', while Polyaenus,

Hermarchus Hermarchus or Hermarch ( el, Ἕρμαρχoς, ''Hermarkhos''; c. 325-c. 250 BC), sometimes incorrectly written Hermachus ( el, Ἕρμαχoς, Hermakhos), was an Epicurean philosopher. He was the disciple and successor of Epicurus as head of the ...

and Metrodorus were ''kathegemones''. A man of mild and friendly manners, as

Philodemus Philodemus of Gadara ( grc-gre, Φιλόδημος ὁ Γαδαρεύς, ''Philodēmos'', "love of the people"; c. 110 – prob. c. 40 or 35 BC) was an Arabic Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before movin ...

refers, he adopted fully the philosophical system of his friend, and, although he had previously acquired great reputation as a mathematician, he now maintained with Epicurus the worthlessness of

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

. But the statement may be at least doubted, since it is certain Polyaenus wrote a mathematical work called ''Puzzles'' ( el, Aπoριαι) in which the validity of geometry is maintained. It was against this treatise that another

Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Ep ...

Demetrius Lacon Demetrius Lacon or Demetrius of Laconia ( el, Δημήτριος; fl. late 2nd century BC) was an Epicurean philosopher, and a disciple of Protarchus. He was an older contemporary of Zeno of Sidon and a teacher of Philodemus. Sextus Empiricus quote ...

, wrote ''Unsolved questions of Polyaenus'' ( el, Πρὸς τὰς Πoλυαίνoυ ἀπoρίας) in the 2nd century BCE. Like Epicurus, a considerable number of spurious works seem to have been assigned to him; one of these was ''Against the Orators'', whose authenticity was attacked both by

Zeno of Sidon Zeno of Sidon ( grc-gre, Ζήνων ὁ Σιδώνιος; c. 150 – c. 75 BC) was a Greek Epicurean philosopher from the Seleucid city of Sidon. His writings have not survived, but there are some epitomes of his lectures preserved among the wr ...

and his pupil

Writings

The works attributed to Polyaenus include:Donald J. Zeyl, Daniel Devereux, Phillip Mitsis, (1997), ''Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy'', page 446. *''On Definitions'' *''On Philosophy'' *''Against

Aristo Aristo (from el, ) may refer to: People Given name * Aristo of Ceos (3rd century BC), Peripatetic philosopher * Aristo of Chios (3rd century BC), Stoic philosopher and colleague of Zeno of Citium * Aristo of Alexandria (1st century BC), Peripa ...

'' *''Puzzles'' (''Aporiai'') *''On the Moon'' *''Against the Orators'' *His collected ''Letters''.

Notes

References

*Polyaenus, ''Polieno. Frammenti'', A. Tepedino Guerra (Italian translation),

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, (1991) * Smith, William; ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

''
"Polyaenus (2)"

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, (1867) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polyaenus of Lampsacus 340s BC births 280s BC deaths 4th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC philosophers 4th-century BC writers 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC philosophers 3rd-century BC writers Ancient Greek mathematicians Ancient Greek metaphilosophers Ancient Greek metaphysicians Epicurean philosophers Hellenistic-era philosophers from Anatolia People from Lampsacus 4th-century BC mathematicians 3rd-century BC mathematicians