# Cleobulus of Lindos — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers character guide

> Cleobulus of Lindos in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Chilo the Lacedaemonian

**First appearance:** 0009-cleobulus

## Snapshot

Tyrant of Lindos and one of the Seven Sages, a poet and riddler who said the best test of men is gold, and that one should not laugh at a person in misfortune.

## Who they are

Cleobulus of Lindos ruled his city and wrote verse, and his maxims in Diogenes are a strange mix of the homely and the severe: honor old age, restrain anger, do not let your tongue outrun your sense, prefer punishment to disgraceful gain because the one hurts once and the other for life. He is credited with teaching the Athenians to regulate their days by the moon, and with forbidding Thespis to perform his tragedies on the ground that falsehood is unprofitable. His presence among the sages is a reminder that Greek wisdom was not only Athenian, and that a tyrant could also be a moralist.

## In the story

### [Cleobulus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/cleobulus)

The subject of the chapter; a sage of Lindus, known for his strength, beauty, philosophical sayings, and poetic works.

## Links

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