Euenus (or Evenus) of

Paros Paros (; el, Πάρος; Venetian: ''Paro'') is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of ...

, ( el, Εὔηνος ὁ Πάριος), was a 5th-century BC

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

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

who was roughly contemporary with

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no t ...

. Euenus is mentioned several times in

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

's ''

Phaedo ''Phædo'' or ''Phaedo'' (; el, Φαίδων, ''Phaidōn'' ), also known to ancient readers as ''On The Soul'', is one of the best-known dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the '' Republic'' and the ''Symposium.'' The philosophica ...

'', '' Phaedrus'', and '' Apology'' of Socrates. He is quoted in

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

's ''

Nicomachean Ethics The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; ; grc, Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics, the science of the good for human life, which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. (I§2) The aim of the inquiry is ...

'' (7.10.1152a32) and '' Eudemian Ethics'' (2.7.1223a30). He was apparently, although obscure, well respected, and was never called a

Sophist A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...

, even though he charged a sizeable sum for teaching students.

Sayings

*One of his famous sayings is cited twice in: Artemidoros, Oneirocritica 1,15 = Plutarch, Moralia 497A De amore prolis 4: ἢ δέος ἢ λύπη παῖς πατρὶ πάντα χρόνον ("a son is always a terror or a pain for his father."). *"Every thing compelled is by nature grievous", '' Eudemian Ethics'' (2.7.1223a30) *

Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a lit ...

quotes him to the effect that fire is the spice of life.Montaigne, ''Essays'' (Penguin 1978) p. 363

Poems

Ten short poetic fragments of Euenus' poetry survive, mostly elegies. One

pentameter Pentameter ( grc, πεντάμετρος, 'measuring five ( feet)') is a poetic meter. А poem is said to be written in a particular pentameter when the lines of the poem have the length of five feet, where a 'foot' is a combination of a particul ...

cited by Aristotle also appears in the ''

Theognidea Theognis of Megara ( grc-gre, Θέογνις ὁ Μεγαρεύς, ''Théognis ho Megareús'') was a Greek lyric poet active in approximately the sixth century BC. The work attributed to him consists of gnomic poetry quite typical of the time, f ...

'' (v. 472), which is part of a bigger poem (vv. 467-496)''.'' This poem is addressed to a Simonides, just as two other poems in the ''Theognidea'': vv. 667-682 & vv. 1341-1350. On this ground, scholars attribute these three poems to Euenus. Eleven poems in the ''

Palatine Anthology The ''Palatine Anthology'' (or ''Anthologia Palatina''), sometimes abbreviated ''AP'', is the collection of Greek poems and epigrams discovered in 1606 in the Palatine Library in Heidelberg. It is based on the lost collection of Constantinus Cep ...

'' are attributed to "Euenos", of which ''Anth. Pal. XI. 49'' is most probably by Euenus. The others are probably by Euenus of Ascalon, and some may be by Euenus of Athens, Euenus of Sicily or Euenus Grammaticus. Most are about works of art.

Sayings

Poems

See also

References

Further reading