Demetrius Lacon or Demetrius of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

(; fl. late 2nd century BC) was an

Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded 307 BCE based upon the teachings of Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher. Epicurus was an atomist and materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to religious s ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and a disciple of Protarchus. He was an older contemporary of

Zeno of Sidon Zeno of Sidon (; 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 writings of his pupil Philodemus. Life Z ...

and a teacher of

Philodemus Philodemus of Gadara (, ''Philodēmos'', "love of the people"; – prob. or 35 BC) was an Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before moving to Rome, and then to Herculaneum. He was once known chiefly for h ...

Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus (, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician with Roman citizenship. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and because of the argument ...

quotes part of a commentary by Demetrius on

Epicurus Epicurus (, ; ; 341–270 BC) was an Greek philosophy, ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy that asserted that philosophy's purpose is to attain as well as to help others attain tranqui ...

, where Demetrius interprets Epicurus' statement that "

time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

is an accident of accidents."

Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

scrolls containing portions of the works of Demetrius were discovered at the

Villa of the Papyri The Villa of the Papyri (, also known as ''Villa dei Pisoni'' and in early excavation records as the ''Villa Suburbana'') was an ancient Roman Empire, Roman villa in Herculaneum, in what is now Ercolano, southern Italy. It is named after its un ...

Herculaneum Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of ...

. The major works partially preserved are: *''Quaestiones convivales'' (PHerc. 1006) *''On the Puzzles of Polyaenus'' (PHerc. 1083, 1258, 1429, 1642, 1647, 1822) *''On Geometry'' (PHerc. 1061) *''On Poems'' (PHerc. 188, 1014) *two untitled works (PHerc. 1786, 124) In addition, he is the probable author of the following works: *''On the Size of the Sun'' (PHerc. 1013) *''On Fickleness'' (PHerc. 831) *an untitled work on textual criticism of Epicurus' writings (PHerc. 1012) *an untitled theological work (PHerc. 1055)Demetrius, Lacon, ''La forma del Dio: PHerc. 1055'', ed. Mariacarolina Santoro. Naples 2000. *an untitled rhetorical work (PHerc. 128)

References

2nd-century BC Greek philosophers Epicurean philosophers Ancient Laconia {{AncientGreece-philosopher-stub