person
Philo of Larissa
Philo
also: Philonem, Philo, Philo of Larissa
Philo of Larissa (c. 159–84 BC) was the last undisputed head of the Platonic Academy. He came to Rome c. 88 BC, where he profoundly influenced the young Cicero. His arrival in Rome marks a turning-point in Cicero's philosophical education, superseding the earlier Epicurean influence of Phaedrus.
Reading notes
- Ad Familiares 13.1 §2 before we had come to know Philo
Philo of Larissa (c. 159–84 BC), head of the Platonic Academy, came to Rome c. 88 BC and profoundly influenced the young Cicero; Phaedrus the Epicurean was Cicero's earlier philosophical contact before Philo arrived.
- Brutus §306 the head of the Academy
Philo of Larissa, the last head of the (sceptical New) Academy at Athens, who fled to Rome during the Mithridatic war (88 BC); the young Cicero attended him with marvellous enthusiasm for philosophy.
- Tusculan Disputations §2.9 Philo, whom I often heard
Philo of Larissa, head of the skeptical New Academy, whose lectures Cicero attended at Rome in 88 BC. His practice of teaching rhetoric and philosophy in alternation is the model for the Tusculan format.