Clearchus of Soli by Mayhew, Robert; Mirhady, David C.; Dorandi, Tiziano;

Short description:

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’s thought.

Long description:

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.

"In definitiva, questo volume costituisce un’importante acquisizione negli studi su Clearco [...] L’edizione di Dorandi si annuncia già come imprescindibile riferimento rispetto alle precedenti in quanto da esse si distingue per alcuni dati nuovi e per alcuni criteri editoriali (su cui cf. infra), oltre che per l’utilissimo subsidium interpretationis." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review

[This volume constitutes an important acquisition in Clearchus studies…. Dorandi's edition [is] an indispensable reference compared to its predecessors insofar as it differs from them in some new data and in its editorial criteria, as well as in the very useful subsidium interpretationis]

"We should be grateful to the contributors to this volume for reassessing the sparse and meagre evidence on Clearchus, which is far from being an easy, or for that matter rewarding, task [...] they have produced a solid piece of scholarship, which goes beyond what has been accomplished by previous scholars. The volume will remain the reference book on Clearchus for quite some time." - The Classical Review

Table of Contents:

1. Clearchus of Soli: The Sources, Text, and Translation  2. Clearchus, a Platonist?  3. Two Concepts of Sleep: Clearchus of Soli and Strato of Lampsacus  4. Clearchus’ Περὶ παιδείας  Appendix: Some notes on Clearchus’ Περὶ παιδείας  5. Clearchus on Love  6. Clearchus, On Lives  7. Clearchus and Paroemiology  8. The Seven Sages and the Inscription of Ai Khanoum  9. Clearchus and Peripatetic Research on Aquatic Creatures  10. Clearchus on the Face in the Moon