Arius Didymus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arius Didymus (Areius, Greek: Ἄρειος), a citizen of Alexandria, was a Stoic philosopher in the time of Augustus, who esteemed him so highly, that after the conquest of Alexandria, he declared that he spared the city chiefly for the sake of Arius.[1] Areius as well as his two sons, Dionysius and Nicanor, are said to have instructed Augustus in philosophy.[2] He is frequently mentioned by Themistius, who says that Augustus valued him not less than Agrippa.[3] From Quintilian[4] it appears, that Arius also taught or wrote on rhetoric.[5]
Arius Didymus is usually identified with the Arius whose works are quoted at length by Stobaeus, summarising Stoic, Peripatetic and Platonist philosophy.[6] That his full name is Arius Didymus we know from Eusebius, who quotes two long passages of his concerning Stoic views on God; the conflagration of the Universe; and the soul.[7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Plutarch, Ant. 80, Apophth.; Dio Cassius, li. 16; Julian, Epistles, 51; comp. Strabo, xiv.
- ^ Suetonius, Augustus, 89.
- ^ Themistius, Orat. v., viii., x., xiii
- ^ Quintilian, ii. 15. § 36, iii. 1. § 16
- ^ Comp. Seneca, consol. ad Marc. 4; Aelian, Varia Historia, xii. 25; Suda
- ^ Inwood, B., The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics. Page 32. Cambridge University Press. (2003).
- ^ Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica, xv. 15, 18, 19, 20.
[edit] Further reading
- Fortenbaugh, W. (Editor), On Stoic and Peripatetic Ethics: The Work of Arius Didymus. Transaction Publishers. (2002). ISBN 0-7658-0972-9
[edit] External links
- Eusebius of Caesarea, Praeparatio Evangelica, Book XV. 15, 18, 19, 20.
