Aristocles of Messene facts for kids

Aristocles of Messene (pronounced like ah-RIS-toh-kleez) was an ancient Greek philosopher. He lived a long time ago, probably around the 1st century AD. That's about 2,000 years ago! He was from a city called Messene in Sicily. Aristocles was part of a group of thinkers known as the Peripatetic school. This school followed the ideas of the famous philosopher Aristotle. Some people think Aristocles might have even taught another important philosopher named Alexander of Aphrodisias.

What Did Aristocles Write About?

Aristocles wrote several books during his lifetime. We know about some of his works from ancient records. These records include writings by historians like the Suda and Eudokia.

Here are some of the topics he wrote about:

• Whether Homer or Plato is more Worthy: This book probably compared the famous poet Homer with the great philosopher Plato.
• Arts of Rhetoric: This work likely taught people how to speak and write persuasively.
• A book about the god Serapis: Serapis was an important god in ancient Egypt and Greece.
• A book on Ethics: This work had nine parts and discussed moral principles and how people should live.
• A book on Philosophy: This was a very big work with ten parts.

His Most Famous Work

The last book mentioned, his work on Philosophy, seems to have been a very important one. It was like a history book about philosophy. In it, Aristocles wrote about different philosophers, their schools of thought, and their main ideas.

We don't have the complete book today. However, parts of it have been saved! These parts are found in another ancient work called Praeparatio Evangelica by Eusebius. Thanks to Eusebius, we can still learn about Aristocles's thoughts on the history of philosophy.

See also

In Spanish: Aristocles de Mesene para niños