Clearchus of Soli

Book excerpt: This book showcases a figure whose life and work bridge Classical and Hellenistic Greece. It comprises Tiziano Dorandi’s comprehensive new edition of the Clearchus ‘fragments’, accompanied by a richly annotated English translation from Stephen White, as well as nine new studies examining key aspects of Clearchus’ thought. Clearchus, from Soli on the island of Cyprus, was an Aristotelian philosopher and cultural historian active in the later fourth and early third centuries BCE. A versatile thinker and prolific author, he wrote on a wide range of subjects. Although none of his works survive, he is cited extensively by later authors. Topics addressed in this volume include his accounts of souls during sleep, educational traditions, forms of love, luxurious living, sage maxims and other traditional sayings, aquatic wildlife, lunar phenomena, and his relation to Plato and Platonism. Clearchus of Soli will interest both students and scholars of ancient Greek history, philosophy and science, and especially anyone interested in Aristotle and his circle, Hellenistic literature and culture, or Greek cultural history generally.