Lacydes of Cyrene ( grc-gre, Λακύδης ὁ Κυρηναῖος), Academic Skeptic philosopher, was head of the

Platonic Academy The Academy (Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδημία) was founded by Plato in c. 387 BC in Classical Athens, Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum. The Academy ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in succession to Arcesilaus from 241 BC. He was forced to resign c. 215 BC due to ill-health, and he died c. 205 BC. Nothing survives of his works.

Life

He was born in Cyrene, the son of Alexander. In his youth he was poor, but remarkable for his industry, as well as for his affable and engaging manners. He moved to Athens, and attached himself to the Middle Academy, according to a silly story quoted by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...

, '' Praeparatio Evangelica'' xiv. 7. from Numenius, because the ease with which his servants robbed him without being detected, convinced him that no reliance could be placed on the evidence of the

senses A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...

. He was a disciple of Arcesilaus, and succeeded him as head ( scholarch) of the school in 241 BC, over which he presided for 26 years. The place where his instructions were delivered was a garden, named the ''Lacydeum'' ( el, Λακύδειον), provided for the purpose by his friend Attalus I of Pergamon. He resigned his position in 216/5 BC, because of ill-health, and for the final ten years of his life the Academy was run by a council led by

Evander Evander is a masculine given name. It is an anglicization of the Greek name Εὔανδρος (lit. "good man", Latinized ''Evandrus''). It has also been adopted as an anglicization of the Gaelic name Iomhar (the Gaelic variant of the name Ivor) ...

and Telecles, who succeeded him to jointly run the Academy after his death in 206/5 BC. According to

Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...

he died from excessive drinking, but the story is discredited by the eulogy of

that he was in all things moderate.

Philosophy

In his philosophical views he followed Arcesilaus closely. He is said to have written treatises, including one entitled ''On Nature'',

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...

, ''Lakudes''. but nothing survives. Apart from a number of anecdotes distinguished for their sarcastic humour, Lacydes has the reputation of a man of refined character, a hard worker, and an accomplished orator.

Notes

References

* * Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacydes Academic philosophers Cyrenean Greeks 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC philosophers Hellenistic-era philosophers in Athens Hellenistic-era philosophers from Africa 200s BC deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Academic skepticism