Heraclides of Pontus and philosophical biography

Aristotle and his followers, such as Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus, present Pythagoras, the Pythagoreans and Empedocles as figures not entirely devoid of legendary features. At the same time the Peripatetic biographers do not fail to place them in proper historical setting as intellectuals, initiated important philosophical and religious movements. According to Dicaearchus, for instance, the sages are known for their highly practical maxims and general rules of right conduct; Pythagoras developed a new lifestyle and promulgated it in his public and private teaching; Socrates introduced a new form of intellectual and moral pursuit; while Plato founded an institutional framework for philosophical studies having thus paved the way to a systematic research, conducted by the Peripatetics, etc. In a striking contract with this, in the dialogues of their contemporary Heraclides of Pontus Pythagoras, Empedocles and other ancient philosophers are predominantly literary figures and super-heroes who’s supernatural powers are clearly beyond the reach of ordinary men. At the same time, the theories these fictitious personages profess are tailored according to a recognizably Platonic draft. In this work the present writer continues his studies of ancient biographic tradition initiated in a series of articles, published in two previous issues of the journal [ Schole 10 (2016) 271-282 and 11 (2017) 570-607].