Myson of Chenae (; grc-gre, Μύσων ὁ Χηνεύς; fl. 6th-century BC), also called "of Chen", was, according to Plato, one of the Seven Sages of Greece. He is not to be confused with the Myson of 5th-century Athens who ran a pottery and inspired, and taught, many of the Mannerists including the Pan Painter.

Biography

According to Sosicrates, who quoted Hermippus, Myson was the son of Strymon, a tyrant of his country.

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 ...

. ''Lives of the Eminent Philosophers''. Translated by Robert Drew Hicks. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Volume 1. 1982. Page 113 All sources agree that Myson was a plain farmer, though they differ as to his place of birth and residence. He is said to have lived in the village of Chen, though this is variously located in

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

or Crete. He is also said to be "of Oeta", which seems to be a reference to Mount Oeta; but the reference is sometimes read as "Etea" instead, which again may have been in Laconia or else in Crete.Diogenes Laërtius 1.106-108; see also James Adam, ''Platonis Protagoras'', page 159. Cambridge University Press 1893;

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, ''de Virt. et Vit.'' p. 551; Pausanias, X 24.1; Clement of Alexandria ''

Stromata The ''Stromata'' ( el, Στρώματα), a mistake for ''Stromateis'' (Στρωματεῖς, "Patchwork," i.e., ''Miscellanies''), attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), is the third of a trilogy of works regarding the Christ ...

''. i. p. 299.;

Stephen of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

, χην and ητια. He died at the age of 97. In his ''

Protagoras Protagoras (; el, Πρωταγόρας; )Guthrie, p. 262–263. was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and rhetorical theorist. He is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue '' Protagoras'', Plato credits him with inventing the r ...

'', Plato lists Myson of Chen as one of the Seven Sages of Greece, instead of

Periander Periander (; el, Περίανδρος; died c. 585 BC) was the Second Tyrant of the Cypselid dynasty that ruled over ancient Corinth. Periander's rule brought about a prosperous time in Corinth's history, as his administrative skill made Corinth o ...

, who was claimed as one by Stobaeus, citing Demetrius of Phaleron as his authority. Eudoxus also lists Myson, but omits Cleobulus instead. The Oracle of Delphi proclaimed Myson the wisest of all men when Anacharsis consulted it: : Myson of Chen in Oeta; this is he : Who for wiseheartedness surpasses thee;

Quotations

:"We should not investigate facts by the light of arguments, but arguments by the light of facts."

Notes

References

* {{Authority control 6th-century BC Greek people Seven Sages of Greece People from Lasithi