Leontion

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Leontion (sometimes rendered "Leontium") apparently was a follower of Epicurus and his philosophy. The information we have about her is scant, and it is mainly in the form of anti-Epicurean tittle-tattle. In some periods, it was common for those unsympathetic to a certain school of thought to circulate in writing scandals concerning the school's founder and to attempt to pass them on as fact. (Scandalous stories have been passed down to us about Socrates, for example; but in his case, we thankfully have more sympathetic testimony to rely upon). Diogenes Laertius seems to have preserved for us a line from a letter that Epicurus evidently wrote to Leontion, in which the master praises her for her well-written arguments against certain philosophical views (which aren't mentioned in Diogenes' quote). Leontion is said to have published arguments criticizing Theophrastus.

She is also said to have been a hetaera- a courtesan or prostitute. But this was a common form of scandal raised against any woman who acted or talked as though she didn't respect the ancient Greek conventions about women, according to which (for example) a respectable woman did not interact with men to whom she wasn't married unless her husband or guardian was present. So we can't say for certain whether she was a hetaera, as the tittle-tattle casts her. We know that Epicurus' school was unusual (with respect to ancient Greek culture at the time) in that it allowed women and even slaves to attend. Leontion may have simply been one of the (perhaps many) intelligent women who wished to pursue philosophical thought under Epicurus' tutelage. (Themista of Lampsacus was another female who attended Epicurus' school and to whom Epicurus evidently wrote philosophical letters). She was the life companion of Metrodorus.