Praxiphanes (Greek: Πραξιφάνης) a Peripatetic philosopher, was a native of Mytilene, who lived a long time in Rhodes.[1] He lived in the time of Demetrius Poliorcetes and Ptolemy I Soter, and was a pupil of Theophrastus, about 322 BC.[2] He subsequently opened a school himself, in which Epicurus is said to have been one of his pupils.[3] Praxiphanes paid special attention to grammatical studies, and is hence named along with Aristotle as the founder and creator of the science of grammar.[4][5]
Writings[edit]
Of the writings of Praxiphanes, which appear to have been numerous, two are especially mentioned, a Dialogue ποιητῶν (Poiitón, 'Poetry')[6] in which Plato and Isocrates were the speakers, and an historical work cited by Marcellinus in his Life of Thucydides[7] under the title of Περὶ ἱστορίας (Perí istorías, 'About History').[5]
Praxiphanes also wrote a works titled On Friendship,[8] On Rare Words,[9] On the Universe,[10] On Poems, and commentaries on Homer's Odyssey, Hesiod's Works and Days, Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus, and Plato's Timaeus.[11][12]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Algra, K., The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy. Page 36. Cambridge University Press. (1999). Cf. Clement of Alexandria, i.; Strabo, xiv.
- ^ Proclus, i. in Timaeum; John Tzetzes, ad Hesiod. Op. et Dies, 1.
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, x. 13
- ^ Clement of Alexandria, i.
- ^ a b Smith 1870.
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, iii. 8
- ^ Marcellinus, Thucydides, §29
- ^ Carneiscus, Philistas fr. 95
- ^ Demetrius, De elocutione 55-58
- ^ Epiphanius, De fide 9.35-39
- ^ Proclus, In Timaeum, 5c
- ^ Matelli 2018, p. 76-78.
References[edit]
Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Praxiphanes". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
Laërtius, Diogenes (1925). . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 1:3. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library.- Matelli, Elisabetta (12 January 2018). "Praxiphanes of Mytilene (called "of Rhodes"): The Sources, Text, and Translation". Praxiphanes of Mytilene and Chamaeleon of Heraclea: Text, Translation, and Discussion. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-49713-8. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
Further reading[edit]
- Preller, Ludwig (1842). De Praxiphane peripatetico inter antiquissimos grammaticos nobili disputatio. (Index scholarum in Univ. litt. Caesarea Dorpatensi) (in Latin). Schünmann. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- Martano, Andrea, ed. (12 January 2018). Praxiphanes of Mytilene and Chamaeleon of Heraclea: Text, Translation, and Discussion. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-49713-8. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
