Charmadas (Greek: Χαρμάδας; also Charmides (Χαρμίδης); 168/7 – 103/91 BC)[1] was a Greek academic skeptic philosopher and a disciple of Carneades at the Academy in Athens. He was famous for his elegant style.[2] Charmadas introduced the teaching of rhetoric into the Academy and is said to have had many students.[2] He was a pupil of Carneades for seven years (145–138 BC) and later he led his own school in the Ptolemaion, a gymnasium in Athens. He was from Alexandria[3] and seems to have lived there, before he went to Athens around 145 BC[4] He was an excellent rhetorician and famous for his outstanding memory and for his ability to memorize whole books and then recite them.[5] Like Philo of Larissa he seems to have pursued a more moderate philosophical scepticism.[6] Lucius Licinius Crassus and Marcus Antonius (orator) were his most prominent pupils. Furthermore, Philodemus preserved us the names of other pupils: Diodorus of Adramyttion, Apollodor of Tarsus, Heliodorus of Mallos, Phanostratus of Tralles and a certain Apollonius.[7]
Notes
edit- ^ Dorandi 1999, p. 48.
- ^ a b Striker, Gisela (2015-12-22). "Charmadas". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.1525. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
- ^ Fleischer 2019, pp. 153–164.
- ^ Fleischer 2014, pp. 66–67.
- ^ Herwig Blum: Die antike Mnemotechnik, Hildesheim 1969, page. 119f.
- ^ Lévy 2005, pp. 62–68; Brittain 2001, p. 54, 213f., 312; Tarrant 1985, p. 37.
- ^ For the list of pupils preserved by Philodemus see Fleischer 2015, pp. 49–53.
References
edit- Brittain, Charles (2001). Philo of Larissa. The Last of the Academic Sceptics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-815298-1.
- Dorandi, Tiziano (1999). "Chapter 2: Chronology". In Algra, Keimpe; et al. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 48. ISBN 9780521250283.
- Fleischer, Kilian (2014). "Der Akademiker Charmadas in Apollodors 'Chronik´ (PHerc. 1021, Kol. 31-32)". Cronache Ercolanesi (in German). 44: 66–75.
- Fleischer, Kilian (2015). "Die Schüler des Charmadas (PHerc.1021, XXXV 32 - XXXVI 14)". Cronache Ercolanesi (in German). 45: 49–53.
- Fleischer, Kilian (2019). "The Academic Philosopher Charmadas of Alexandria: Uncovering His Origins". Quaderni del Museo del Papiro. 16: 153–164.
- Lévy, Carlos (2005). "Les Petits Académiciens: Lacyde, Charmadas, Métrodore de Stratonice". In Bonazzi, Mauro; Celluprica, Vincenza (eds.). L'eredità platonica. Studi sul platonismo da Arcesilao a Proclo (in Italian). Naples: Bibliopolis. pp. 51−77.
- Tarrant, Harold (1985). Scepticism or Platonism? The Philosophy of the Fourth Academy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 37.
Further reading
edit- Tiziano Dorandi: Charmadas. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. vol. 2, CNRS Éditions, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-271-05195-9, pp. 297–298.
- Görler, Woldemar (1994). Charmadas. In: Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie. Die Philosophie der Antike, vol. 4/2: Die hellenistische Philosophie, ed. Hellmut Flashar., Basel ISBN 3-7965-0930-4, pp. 906–908.