Anaximenes of Lampsacus

Anaximenes of Lampsacus was a Greek rhetorician and historian of the 4th century BC

Anaximenes, son of Aristokles studied in the Cynic Diogenes and said to have been an opponent of Theopompus of Chios. He probably also participated in the campaign of Macedon king Alexander the Great Alexander against Persia in part and should have dissuaded Lampsacus to destroy alleged Persian friendliness.

Anaximenes was considered an excellent speaker. He wrote, among other things, prosecution speeches and fake speeches as a teaching tool. Even in ancient times but was criticized for not to have been particularly profound. Anaximenes was probably the author of large sections of probably in the 1st century BC compiled treatise on rhetoric ( Rhetorica ad Alexandrum ), which has long been attributed to Aristotle.

Anaximenes also wrote several historical works: A Greek History ( Hellenica ) in 12 books, which lasted until 362 BC, a story about Alexander's father Philip II ( diatribe ) in at least eight books as well as a work on Alexander. Of the historical works only a few fragments survive. From the Alexander story book no reliable number is handed down, it must have been quite extensively by Felix Jacoby, however. Anaximenes seems also to have Alexander presented in a very positive light. The Alexander story did not exercise a greater influence of some researchers. Certainly, but the historical works of Anaximenes were quite quite well known, because in Alexandria, he was inducted into the canon of the ten most famous Greek historian.

Expenditure

• Manfred Fuhrmann: Anaximenis Ars rhetorica quae vulgo Fertur Aristotelis Ad Alexandrum. Teubner, Leipzig 1966. 2nd edition Saur, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-598-71983-3 ( basic text output )
• Mary Frances Williams: Anaximenes of Lampsacus (72). In: Brill 's New Jacoby ( with English translation, commentary and extensive references).