"Apollodorus of Athens"

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    It seems our Apollodorus "the Epicurean" and the more famous Apollodorus "of Athens" are now considered two different people, but I need help figuring out why.


    They have the same dates:
    Apollodorus "of Athens" first came to Athens in 146 BC (in his early thirties) -- and Apollodorus "the Epicurean" died around 100 BC (as an old man).


    Apollodorus "of Athens" was associated with Epicureans:
    He was originally educated by the Stoic Scholarch Diogenes of Babylon -- but this Diogenes, as we know, was on friendly terms with Philōnídēs of Laodíkeia. (This puts our Philōnídēs, who did visit Athens while representing the Seleucids, in the same friend group as Apollodorus "of Athens")


    They both wrote the same book:
    Diogénēs Laë́rtios says "Apollodorus [the Epicurean] in his Chronology tells us that [Epíkouros] was a student of Nausiphánēs and Praxiphanes" -- but one of the main works of Apollodorus "of Athens" was his "Chronology"

    • New

    Evidence is very fragmentary. I came across the figure as well in a few places:

    “APOLLODORUS [of Lampsacus] [1] (fourth century BC)
    Apollodorus was an Epicurean and a brother of Leontius of Lampsacus.” (Curnow, The Philosophers of the Ancient Worlds: An A-Z Guide 31)

    “APOLLODORUS [the Epicurean] [2] (third century BC) Apollodorus was an Epicurean, perhaps a pupil of Polystratus.” (Ibid.)

    “APOLLODORUS [of Athens] [4] (second century BC)
    Apollodorus was an Epicurean, heading the school for most of the second half of the second century BC. His long tenure earned him the nickname of ‘Tyrant of the Garden’. He wrote many books, including a life of Epicurus, and was the teacher of Zeno of Sidon.” (Ibid.)

    I am not sure why. I have only been able to locate scholarly attestations to the other Apollodoros, but not the original fragment, itself. Please let me know if you come across it!

    I've also had this curiosity for a while.

    • New
    Quote from Eikadistes

    APOLLODORUS [the Epicurean]
    APOLLODORUS [of Athens]

    Thank you for helping with this. We know Diogenes Laertius references as his source "Apollodorus of Athens" (7.181) and "Apollodorus the Epicurean" (10.13). This itself might be the source of the scholastic tradition of them being two different men.

    Given my arguments above, I do not think two different epithets certainty means two different men. Epithets in Diogenes Laertius are not consistent or systematic.

    And at 7.181, it is "Apollodorus of Athens" defending Epicurus, quite like an "Apollodorus the Epicurean" would be expected to do!


    • "Apollodorus of Athens, in his "Collection of Doctrines" wanting to show that the works of Epicurus (written by his own efforts and not copied) were innumerably more numerous than the books of Chrysippus, said in these very words: 'indeed if someone were to remove from Chrysippus' books all that was cited from elsewhere – his papyrus would be left empty!'"

    Quote from Eikadistes

    “APOLLODORUS [of Lampsacus] [1] (fourth century BC)

    I may be overlooking something, but I am not finding him.

    Edited once, last by Bryan (July 6, 2025 at 10:31 PM).

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