Dicaearchus of Messene

David Mirhady (Simon Fraser University)

Ed. by Vaios Liapis, Open University of Cyprus
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool)

Dates

Born c. -350
Died c. -285
Activity c. -330-c. -310

Places

Born in Sicily
Active in Ancient Greece

Activities

Primary

Cartographer
Geographer
Mathematician
Philosopher

Resources

Dicaearchus' Works

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Dicaearchus of Messene (or Messana) in Sicily was a student of Aristotle and a member of the Peripatos, as Aristotle’s school was known. He was, however, not in agreement with Aristotle on all things, and Dicaearchus’ name is often linked with that of the musical theorist Aristoxenus (also a pupil of Aristotle). Dicaearchus was admired as a good teacher, citizen, and human being. Like Aristotle and other members of his school, he had a broad range of intellectual interests, from psychology to cultural history to literature and geography. None of his works survive; we have some fragments from, or reports on his writings, but all of this material has come down to us in the form of citations embedded in later texts. His work was well known to Cicero, Plutarch, and Athenaeus who, along…

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804 words

Citation: Mirhady, David. "Dicaearchus of Messene". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 December 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11979, accessed 21 November 2024.]