Menippus of Gadara (/məˈnɪpəs/;Greek:Μένιππος ὁ ΓαδαρεύςMenippos ho Gadareus; fl. 3rd century BC) was aCynicsatirist. TheMenippean satire genre is named after him. His works, all of which are lost, were an important influence onVarro andLucian, who ranks Menippus withAntisthenes,Diogenes, andCrates as among the most notable of theCynics.
Little is known about the life of Menippus. He was ofPhoenician descent,[1][2] from the Greek city ofGadara[3] inCoele-Syria.[4][5] He was originally aslave,[6] in the service of a citizen ofPontus, but in some way obtained his freedom and relocated toThebes.Diogenes Laërtius relates a dubious[7] story that he amassed a fortune as amoney-lender, lost it, and committedsuicide.[8]
His works (written in a mixture ofprose andverse) are all lost. He discussed serious subjects in a spirit of ridicule, and especially delighted in attacking theEpicureans andStoics.Strabo andStephanus call him the "earnest-jester" (Greek:σπουδογέλοιος,spoudogeloios). His writings exercised considerable influence upon later literature, and theMenippean satire genre is named after him. Although the writings of Menippus no longer survive, there are some fragments ofVarro'sSaturae Menippeae, which were written in imitation of Menippus.[9] One of the dialogues attributed toLucian, his avowed imitator, who frequently mentions him, is calledMenippus, but since the sub-title ("The Oracle of the Dead") resembles that of a work ascribed to Menippus by Diogenes Laërtius, it has been suggested that it is imitated from hisNecromancy.[10]
Diogenes Laërtius says the following works were written by Menippus:[11]
In addition,Athenaeus mentions works calledSymposium[12] andArcesilaus,[13] and Diogenes Laërtius mentions aSale of Diogenes (Greek:Διογένους Πράσει)[14] written by Menippus which seems to be the main source of the story thatDiogenes of Sinope was captured by pirates and sold into slavery.
Menippus, also a Cynic, was by descent a Phoenician—a slave, as Achaicus in his treatise on Ethics says.
Laërtius, Diogenes."The Cynics: Menippus" .Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 2:6. Translated byHicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library.
