Acron ( grc-gre, Ἄκρων), son of Xenon, was a Greek physician born at

Agrigentum Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one o ...

(Gk. Acragas).

Life

The exact dates of Acron is not known; but, as he is mentioned as being contemporary with

Empedocles Empedocles (; grc-gre, Ἐμπεδοκλῆς; , 444–443 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a native citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is best known for originating the cosmogonic theory of the ...

, who died about the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, he must have lived in the fifth century BC. From

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

he went to

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 ...

and there opened a philosophical school (). It is said that Acron was in that city during the great plague (430 BC) and that large fires kindled in the streets at his direction for the purpose of purifying the air proved of great service to several of the sick. There is, however, no mention of this in

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

, and if

Simonides Simonides of Ceos (; grc-gre, Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος; c. 556–468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteemed ...

(d. 467 BC) in fact wrote the epitaph on Acron, he may not have been in Athens during the plague. On Acron's return to his native country, the physician asked the senate for a spot of ground where he might build a family tomb. The request was refused at the suggestion of Empedocles, who conceived that such a grant for such a purpose would interfere with the principle of equality that he was anxious to establish at Agrigentum. Because the ironic epitaph on the "Acragantine Acron" is among the most replete '' jeux de mot'' on record, it so challenges translation that it will be given in Greek to preserve the

paronomasia A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophonic ...

of the original: : :: The second line was sometimes read thus: :: More or less: "The lofty physician Loftyman of Loftyville, son of a lofty father, is hidden here under a lofty crag in the loftiest of fatherlands," or "is covered by the lofty tomb of a very lofty peak." Some attributed the whole epigram to

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

considers Acron as the first of the ''Empirics''. But this has been considered an error, for the sect alluded to did not arise until the third century BC, roughly 200 years after the time of Acron. Some scholars consider that the sect of the Empirici, in order to boast of a greater antiquity than the Dogmatics (founded about 400 BC by

Thessalus In Greek mythology, the name Thessalus is attributed to the following individuals, all of whom were considered possible eponyms of Thessaly. *Thessalus, son of Haemon,Strabo, 9.5.23 son of Chlorus, son of Pelasgus. *Thessalus, son of Poseidon ...

the son and Polybus the son-in-law 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 ...

), merely claimed Acron as their founder.Pseudo-Gal., ''Introd.'' 4, vol. xiv, p. 683 None of Acron's works are now extant, though he wrote several in the Doric dialect on medical and physical subjects, the titles of which are preserved by the Suda and Eudocia.

References

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acron 5th-century BC Greek physicians Ancient Acragantines 5th-century BC Greek people