Clitomachus or Cleitomachus (, ''Kleitómakhos''; 187/6–110/9BC) was a Greek philosopher, originally from

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

, who came to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 163/2BC and studied

philosophy 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 ...

under

Carneades Carneades (; , ''Karneadēs'', "of Carnea"; 214/3–129/8 BC) was a Greek philosopher, perhaps the most prominent head of the Skeptical Academy in Ancient Greece. He was born in Cyrene. By the year 159 BC, he had begun to attack many previo ...

. He became head of the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

around 127/6BC. He was an Academic skeptic like his master. Nothing survives of his writings, which were dedicated to making known the views of Carneades, but

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

made use of them for some of his works.

Life

Clitomachus was born in

in 187/6BC as Hasdrubal (, ''Hasdroúbas''; , ''ʿAzrubaʿal'', "Help of Baal"). He came to

in 163/2 BC, when he was about 24 years old. There he became connected with the founder of the New Academy, the philosopher

, under whose guidance he rose to be one of the most distinguished disciples of this school; but he also studied at the same time the philosophy of the Stoics and Peripatetics. In 127/6 BC, two years after the death of Carneades, he became the effective head ( scholarch) of the

. He continued to teach at Athens till as late as 111 BC, as Crassus heard him in that year. He died in 110/09 BC, and was succeeded as scholarch by

Philo of Larissa Philo of Larissa ( ''Philon ho Larissaios''; 159/8–84/3 BC) was a Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher. It is very probable that his actual name was Philio - with a second iota. He was a pupil of Clitomachus (philosopher), Clitomachus, whom he s ...

Writings

Of his works, which amounted to 400 books only a few titles are preserved. His main object in writing them was to make known the philosophy of his master

, from whose views he never dissented. Clitomachus continued to reside at Athens till the end of his life; but he continued to cherish a strong affection for his native country, and when

was captured and destroyed in 146 BC, he wrote a work to console his unfortunate countrymen. This work, which

says he had read, was taken from a discourse of Carneades, and was intended to exhibit the consolation which philosophy supplies even under the greatest calamities. His work was highly regarded by Cicero, who based parts of his '' De Natura Deorum'', '' De Divinatione'' and '' De Fato'' on a work of Clitomachus he names as ''On the Withholding of Assent'' (). Clitomachus probably treated the history of philosophy in his work on the philosophical sects: ''On the Schools of Thought'' (). Two of Clitomachus' works are known to have been dedicated to prominent Romans, the poet Gaius Lucilius and the one-time consul Lucius Marcius Censorinus,Cicero, ''Academica'', ii. 32. suggesting that his work was known and appreciated in Rome.

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* * * . * {{Authority control 180s BC births 110s BC deaths 2nd-century BC Greek philosophers Carthaginians Hellenistic-era philosophers from Africa Hellenistic-era philosophers in Athens 2nd-century BC Punic people Academic skeptics