Idomeneus of Lampsacus (; el, Ἰδομενεύς Λαμψακηνός, Idomeneus Lampsakēnos; c. 325 – c. 270 BC) was a friend and disciple 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 ...
.
Life
Little is known about his life, except that he married
Batis of Lampsacus Batis (or Bates) of Lampsacus, was a student of Epicurus at Lampsacus in the early 3rd century BC. She was the sister of Metrodorus and wife of Idomeneus. When her son died, Metrodorus wrote to his sister offering comfort,Seneca, ''Epistles'', te ...
, the sister of
Metrodorus, and he was a court dignitary 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 transmitt ...
around 306–301 BC. Idomeneus wrote a considerable number of philosophical and historical works, and though the latter were not regarded as of very great authority, still they must have been of considerable value, as they seem to have been chiefly devoted to an account of the lives of the leading figures of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
Works
The titles of the following works of Idomeneus are mentioned:
*''History of
Samothrace
Samothrace (also known as Samothraki, el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 ...
'' ( el, Ἱστορία τῶν κατὰ Σαμοθρᾴκην). This work is probably the one referred to by the
Scholiast
Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...
on
Apollonius of Rhodes
Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...
.
*''On the Socratics'' ( el, Περὶ τῶν Σωκρατικῶν), of which some fragments survive.
The title of one of the work or works of Idomeneus is not known, but it contained accounts of the following people: of the
Peisistratidae, of
Themistocles
Themistocles (; grc-gre, Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. A ...
of
Aristides
Aristides ( ; grc-gre, Ἀριστείδης, Aristeídēs, ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''dikaios''), he flourished in the early quarter of Athens' Classical period and is remember ...
, of
Pericles
Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...
, of
Demosthenes
Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...
, of
Aeschines
Aeschines (; Greek: , ''Aischínēs''; 389314 BC) was a Greek statesman and one of the ten Attic orators.
Biography
Although it is known he was born in Athens, the records regarding his parentage and early life are conflicting; but it seems ...
, of
Hyperides
Hypereides or Hyperides ( grc-gre, Ὑπερείδης, ''Hypereidēs''; c. 390 – 322 BC; English pronunciation with the stress variably on the penultimate or antepenultimate syllable) was an Athenian logographer (speech writer). He was one ...
, and of
Phocion
Phocion (; grc-gre, Φωκίων ''Phokion''; c. 402 – c. 318 BC; nicknamed The Good (''ὁ χρηστός'')) was an Athenian statesman and strategos, and the subject of one of Plutarch's ''Parallel Lives''.
Phocion was a successful politici ...
.
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, "Phocion"
4
It is possible that all these persons were mentioned in one work, to which modern writers have assigned various conjectural titles. The true title of the work may have been ''On the Athenian leaders'' ( el, Περὶ τῶν Aθηνησι δημαγωγῶν).
Notes
References
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Attribution:
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Idomeneus Of Lampsacus
3rd-century BC Greek people
3rd-century BC philosophers
Ancient Greek biographers
Epicurean philosophers
Hellenistic-era philosophers from Anatolia
People from Lampsacus