Demetrius Lacon or Demetrius of

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 ...

( el, Δημήτριος; fl. late 2nd century BC) was an

Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Ep ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, and a disciple of Protarchus. He was an older contemporary of

Zeno of Sidon Zeno of Sidon ( grc-gre, Ζήνων ὁ Σιδώνιος; c. 150 – c. 75 BC) was a Greek Epicurean philosopher from the Seleucid city of Sidon. His writings have not survived, but there are some epitomes of his lectures preserved among the wr ...

and a teacher of

Philodemus Philodemus of Gadara ( grc-gre, Φιλόδημος ὁ Γαδαρεύς, ''Philodēmos'', "love of the people"; c. 110 – prob. c. 40 or 35 BC) was an Arabic Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before movin ...

Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus ( grc-gre, Σέξτος Ἐμπειρικός, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and ...

quotes part of a commentary by Demetrius on

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. Influence ...

, where Demetrius interprets Epicurus' statement that "

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

is an accident of accidents."

Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to ...

scrolls containing portions of the works of Demetrius were discovered at the

Villa of the Papyri The Villa of the Papyri ( it, Villa dei Papiri, also known as ''Villa dei Pisoni'' and in early excavation records as the ''Villa Suburbana'') was an ancient Roman villa in Herculaneum, in what is now Ercolano, southern Italy. It is named afte ...

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the n ...

. The major works partially preserved are: *''Quaestiones convivales'' (PHerc. 1006) *''On the Puzzles of Polyaenus'' (PHerc. 1083, 1258, 1429, 1642, 1647, 1822) *''On Geometry'' (PHerc. 1061) *''On Poems'' (PHerc. 188, 1014) *two untitled works (PHerc. 1786, 124) In addition, he is the probable author of the following works: *''On the Size of the Sun'' (PHerc. 1013) *''On Fickleness'' (PHerc. 831) *an untitled work on textual criticism of Epicurus' writings (PHerc. 1012) *an untitled theological work (PHerc. 1055)Demetrius, Lacon, ''La forma del Dio: PHerc. 1055'', ed. Mariacarolina Santoro. Naples 2000. *an untitled rhetorical work (PHerc. 128)

References

2nd-century BC Greek people 2nd-century BC philosophers Epicurean philosophers Hellenistic-era philosophers Ancient Laconia {{greece-philosopher-stub