Sphaerus ( el, Σφαῖρος; c. 285 BC – c. 210 BC) of

Borysthenes Borysthenes (; grc, Βορυσθένης) is a geographical name from classical antiquity. The term usually refers to the Dnieper River and its eponymous river god, but also seems to have been an alternative name for Pontic Olbia, a town situate ...

Plutarch, ''Cleomenes''
2.2
or the

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

, was a Stoic philosopher.

Life

Sphaerus studied first under

Zeno of Citium Zeno of Citium (; grc-x-koine, Ζήνων ὁ Κιτιεύς, ; c. 334 – c. 262 BC) was a Hellenistic philosopher from Citium (, ), Cyprus. Zeno was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 ...

, and afterwards under

Cleanthes Cleanthes (; grc-gre, Κλεάνθης; c. 330 BC – c. 230 BC), of Assos, was a Greek Stoic philosopher and boxer who was the successor to Zeno of Citium as the second head ('' scholarch'') of the Stoic school in Athens. Originally a box ...

. He taught in

Sparta Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

, where he acted as advisor to

Cleomenes III Cleomenes III ( grc, Κλεομένης) was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to ...

. He moved to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

at some point, (possibly when Cleomenes himself was exiled there in 222 BC) where he lived in the court of

Ptolemy IV Philopator egy, Iwaennetjerwymenkhwy Setepptah Userkare Sekhemankhamun Clayton (2006) p. 208. , predecessor = Ptolemy III , successor = Ptolemy V , horus = ''ḥnw-ḳni sḫꜤi.n-sw-it.f'Khunuqeni sekhaensuitef'' The strong youth whose ...

Ideas

Little survives of his works, but Sphaerus had a considerable reputation among the Stoics for the accuracy of his definitions.Cicero
''Tusculan Disputations''
iv. 24.

Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal sour ...

Diogenes Laërtius
vii. 177
/ref> and

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of t ...

tell a story of how he once saved himself from admitting that he had been deceived by a trick played upon him by King Ptolemy:

Writings

According to Diogenes Laërtius, Sphaerus wrote the following works:Diogenes Laërtius, vii. 178 * Περὶ κόσμου δύο – ''On the Universe (two books)'' * Περὶ στοιχείων – ''On the Elements'' * �ερὶσπέρματος – '' nSeed'' * Περὶ τύχης – ''On Fortune'' * Περὶ ἐλαχίστων – ''On the Smallest Things'' * Πρὸς τὰς ἀτόμους καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα – ''Against Atoms and Images'' * Περὶ αἰσθητηρίων – ''On the Senses'' * Περὶ Ἡρακλείτου πέντε διατριβῶν – ''On

Heraclitus Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. I ...

(five lectures)'' * Περὶ τῆς ἠθικῆς διατάξεως – ''On the Arrangement of Ethics'' * Περὶ καθήκοντος – ''On Duty'' * Περὶ ὁρμῆς – ''On Impulse'' * Περὶ παθῶν δύο – ''On Passions (two books)'' * Περὶ βασιλείας – ''On Kingship'' * Περὶ Λακωνικῆς πολιτείας – ''On the

Lacedaemon Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

ian Constitution'' * Περὶ Λυκούργου καὶ Σωκράτους τρία – ''On Lycurgus and

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 te ...

(three books)'' * Περὶ νόμου – ''On Law'' * Περὶ μαντικῆς – ''On Divination'' * Διαλόγους ἐρωτικούς – ''Dialogues on Love'' * Περὶ τῶν Ἐρετριακῶν φιλοσόφων – ''On the Eretrian Philosophers'' * Περὶ ὁμοίων – ''On Things Similar'' * Περὶ ὅρων – ''On Terms'' * Περὶ ἕξεως – ''On Habits'' * Περὶ τῶν ἀντιλεγομένων τρία – ''On Contradictions (three books)'' * Περὶ λόγου – ''On Discourse'' * Περὶ πλούτου – ''On Wealth'' * Περὶ δόξης – ''On Glory'' * Περὶ θανάτου – ''On Death'' * Τέχνης διαλεκτικῆς δύο – ''Art of

Dialectic Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...

s (two books)'' * Περὶ κατηγορημάτων – ''On Predicates'' * Περὶ ἀμφιβολιῶν – ''On Ambiguity'' * Ἐπιστολάς – ''Letters''

Notes

References

* {{Authority control Stoic philosophers 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC philosophers Ancient Pontic Greeks Ptolemaic court 280s BC births 210s BC deaths