Batis (or Bates) of

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 transmitt ...

, was a student 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. Influenced ...

at Lampsacus in the early 3rd century BC. She was the sister of Metrodorus and wife of

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. ...

. When her son died, Metrodorus wrote to his sister offering comfort,Seneca, ''Epistles'', telling her that "all the Good of mortals is mortal," and "that there is a certain pleasure akin to sadness, and that one should give chase thereto at such times as these." Epicurus, for his part, wrote a letter to Batis on the death of Metrodorus in 277 BC. Among the various fragments of

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

discovered among the

papyri 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'') can also refer to a d ...

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the nea ...

, some may have been written by Batis.Klauck, H., Bailey, D., (2006), ''Ancient Letters And the New Testament: A Guide to Context And Exegesis'', page 154. Baylor University Press.

Notes

Ancient Greek women philosophers Epicurean philosophers Hellenistic-era philosophers from Anatolia People from Lampsacus 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC philosophers 3rd-century BC Greek women {{AncientGreece-bio-stub