Diogenes Laërtius
3rd-century Roman biographer of Greek philosophers · Writers · Lived 180 to 240 · aged 60
Diogenes Laërtius is read about 451 times a day, in 53 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?He wrote the book that became our main window into ancient Greek philosophy - not because it's brilliant, but because nearly everything else burned.
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Diogenes Laertius
Archytas 256
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De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen - waar van 'er veele met hunne beeltenissen ten tooneel verschynen, en hun levensgedrag en konstwerken beschreven worden- zynde (14597669088)
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Diogenes Laercio 1792 II
Diogenes Laercio 1792
Diogeneszin diogeneslaertiusIn their own words 10
, Alcæus mentions Aristodemus in these lines: - / ’T is money makes the man; and he who ’s none / Is counted neither good nor honourable.
Thales said there was no difference between life and death. "Why, then," said some one to him, "do not you die?" "Because," said he, "it does make no difference.
When Thales was asked what was difficult, he said, "To know one’s self." And what was easy, "To advise another.
About this person
Diogenes Laërtius compiled Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers sometime in the 3rd century CE, pulling together anecdotes and teachings about the great thinkers of Greece. Almost nothing is known about his own life. Scholars have argued over his method for centuries: he repeats sources without vetting them, lingers on trivial biographical details while skipping core doctrine, sometimes blurs which ideas belonged to which era of a school. But he also tends to report what the philosophers said without twisting it to fit his own agenda, a rarer virtue than it sounds. The primary texts he cited are now gone. His survival made him indispensable.
Writers born in the 180s 3
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