Heraclides of Tarentum ( grc-gre, Ἡρακλείδης ὁ Ταραντῖνος; fl. 3rd – 2nd century BC), was a

Pyrrhonist Pyrrho of Elis (; grc, Πύρρων ὁ Ἠλεῖος, Pyrrhо̄n ho Ēleios; ), born in Elis, Greece, was a Greek philosopher of Classical antiquity, credited as being the first Greek skeptic philosopher and founder of Pyrrhonism. Life ...

philosopher and Greek physician of the

Empiric school The Empiric school of medicine (''Empirics'', ''Empiricists'', or ''Empirici'', el, Ἐμπειρικοί) was a school of medicine founded in Alexandria the middle of the third century BC. The school was a major influence on ancient Greek and Ro ...

who wrote commentaries on the works of

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...

. Diogenes Laërtius said that he taught Pyrrhonism to Aenesidemus, who revitalized the school. He came from

Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...

, was a pupil of

Mantias Mantias, ( el, Μαντίας; 3rd century BC) a Greek physician who was the tutor of Heraclides of Tarentum, and one of the followers of Herophilus; and who lived therefore most probably in the 3rd century BC. Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius ...

, and probably lived in the 3rd or 2nd century BC, somewhat later than Apollonius Empiricus and Glaucias. He belonged to the

, and wrote some works on '' Materia medica'', which are very frequently quoted by

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...

, but of which only a few fragments remain. Galen speaks of him in high terms of praise, saying that he was an author who could be entirely depended upon, as he wrote in his works only what he had himself found from his own experience to be correct. He was also one of the first persons who wrote a commentary on all the works in the

Hippocratic Corpus The Hippocratic Corpus (Latin: ''Corpus Hippocraticum''), or Hippocratic Collection, is a collection of around 60 early Ancient Greek medical works strongly associated with the physician Hippocrates and his teachings. The Hippocratic Corpus cov ...

.Galen, ''Comment. in Hippocr. De Humor.'', i. prooem. 24, vol. xvi. He is several times quoted by

Caelius Aurelianus Caelius Aurelianus of Sicca in Numidia was a Greco-Roman physician and writer on medical topics. He is best known for his translation from Greek to Latin of a work by Soranus of Ephesus, ''On Acute and Chronic Diseases''. He probably flourished ...

and other ancient authors.

Notes

* {{Authority control Pyrrhonism 3rd-century BC Greek physicians 2nd-century BC Greek physicians Ancient Greek epistemologists