Mnesarchus or Mnesarch ( el, Μνήσαρχος, ''Mnēsarkhos''), of Athens, was a

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy *STOIC, a programming language * ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll * ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain *' ...

philosopher, who lived c. 160 – c. 85 BC.

Biography

Mnesarchus was a pupil of

Diogenes of Babylon Diogenes of Babylon (also known as Diogenes of Seleucia; grc-gre, Διογένης Βαβυλώνιος; la, Diogenes Babylonius; c. 230 – c. 150/140 BC) was a Stoic philosopher. He was the head of the Stoic school in Athens, and he was one of ...

and

Antipater of Tarsus Antipater of Tarsus ( el, Ἀντίπατρος ὁ Ταρσεύς; died 130/129 BC) was a Stoic philosopher. He was the pupil and successor of Diogenes of Babylon as leader of the Stoic school, and was the teacher of Panaetius. He wrote works on ...

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

says that he was one of the leaders of the Stoic school ( la, principes Stoicorum) at

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 ...

together with Dardanus at a time when

Antiochus of Ascalon Antiochus of Ascalon (; grc-gre, Άντίοχος ὁ Ἀσκαλώνιος; c. 125 – c. 68 BC) was an Platonism, Academic philosopher. He was a pupil of Philo of Larissa at the Platonic Academy, Academy, but he diverged from the Academic s ...

was turning away from

scepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...

(c. 95 BC). He was the teacher of Antiochus for a time, and he may also have taught

Philo of Larissa Philo of Larissa ( el, Φίλων ὁ Λαρισσαῖος ''Philon ho Larissaios''; 159/8–84/3 BC) was a Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher. He was a pupil of Clitomachus (philosopher), Clitomachus, whom he succeeded as head of the Platonic ...

. After the death of

Panaetius Panaetius (; grc-gre, Παναίτιος, Panaítios; – ) of Rhodes was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus in Athens, before moving to Rome where he did m ...

(109 BC), the Stoic school at Athens seems to have fragmented, and Mnesarchus was probably one of several leading Stoics teaching in this era. He was probably dead by the time Cicero was learning philosophy in Athens in 79 BC. Cicero mentions him several times and seems to have been familiar with some of his writings:

Mnesarchus himself, said, that those whom we call orators were nothing but a set of mechanics with glib and well-practised tongues, but that no one could be an orator but a man of true wisdom; and that eloquence itself, as it consisted in the art of speaking well, was a kind of virtue, and that he who possessed one virtue possessed all, and that virtues were in themselves equal and alike; and thus he who was eloquent possessed all virtues, and was a man of true wisdom.Cicero, ''On Oratory'', 18.

Notes

References

* Algra, K., ''The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy.'' p. 41. Cambridge University Press, (1999). * Fleischer, K., ''Der Stoiker Mnesarch als Lehrer des Antiochus im Index Academicorum.'' In: ''

Mnemosyne In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; grc, Μνημοσύνη, ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine chil ...

.'' 68/3, 2015, pp. 413–423. * Inwood, B., ''The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics.'' p. 27. Cambridge University Press, (2003). {{Stoicism 160s BC births 80s BC deaths Hellenistic-era philosophers in Athens Roman-era Stoic philosophers Roman-era Athenian philosophers 2nd-century BC Athenians 1st-century BC philosophers