Crantor of Soli | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mid 4th century BC |
| Died | c. 276/5 BC |
| Notable work | On Grief |
| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Ancient Greek philosophy |
| School | Old Academy |
| Institutions | Platonic Academy |
| Notable students | Arcesilaus |
Main interests | Ethics |
Crantor ofSoli (Greek:Κράντωρ,gen.: Κράντορος; died 276/5 BC[1]) was anAncient Greek philosopher and member of theOld Academy who was the first philosopher to writecommentaries on the works of Plato.
Crantor was probably born around the middle of the 4th century BC, atSoli inCilicia (modern-dayTurkey). He moved fromCilicia to Athens in order to study philosophy,[2] where he became a pupil ofXenocrates and a friend ofPolemon, and one of the most distinguished supporters of the philosophy of the older Academy. As Xenocrates died 314/3 BC, Crantor must have come to Athens prior to that year, although the date of his birth is not known. He died before both Polemon andCrates, who succeeded Polemon asscholarch.Dropsy was the cause of his death.[3] He left his fortune, which amounted to twelvetalents, toArcesilaus, who had been his pupil and who later succeeded Crates as scholarch of the Academy.[4][5]
His works were very numerous; but of these, only fragments have been preserved. They appear to have related principally to moral subjects, and, accordingly,Horace[6] classes him withChrysippus as a moral philosopher, and speaks of him in a manner which proves that the writings of Crantor were much read and generally known inRome at that time.[5]
He also made some attempts at poetry; andDiogenes Laërtius relates, that, after sealing up a collection of his poems, he deposited them in the temple ofAthena in his native city, Soli. He is accordingly called by the poetTheaetetus, in an epitaph which he composed upon him,[7] the friend of theMuses; and that his chief favorites among the poets wereHomer andEuripides.[8]
The most popular of Crantor's works in Rome seems to have been that "On Grief" (Latin:De Luctu,Greek:Περὶ Πένθους), which was addressed to his friend Hippocles on the death of his son, and from whichCicero seems to have heavily relied upon in hisTusculan Disputations.[9] According to Cicero, theStoic philosopherPanaetius called it a "golden" work, which deserved to be learnt by heart word for word.[10] Cicero also made great use of it while writing his celebratedConsolatio on the death of his daughter,Tullia. Several extracts from it are preserved inPseudo-Plutarch's treatise on Consolation addressed to Apollonius, which has come down to us. Crantor paid special attention toethics, and arranged "good" things in the following order - virtue, health, pleasure, riches.[11]
Diogenes Laërtius says that Crantor left behind 30,000 lines of Commentaries (ύπομνήματα),[2] but of these only fragments have been preserved.[5] Crantor seems to have been the first member of thePlatonic academy to writecommentaries on the works of Plato;[12]Proclus credits Crantor with the first commentary on theTimaeus,[13] andEudorus of Alexandria makes use of Crantor's work in his own commentary, which is in turn preserved byPlutarch.[14]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Crantor".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 378–379. Laërtius, Diogenes (1925)."The Academics: Crantor" .Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 1:4. Translated byHicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library. § 24-27.
Smith, William, ed. (1870)."Crantor".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
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