# Lycon — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers character guide

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

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0050-lycon

## Snapshot

A Peripatetic heir to the Lyceum who once tried to bribe a lovesick rich man away from an ugly woman with a prettier one for ten talents.

## Who they are

Lycon inherits the headship of Aristotle's school after Strato, a caretaker of the Peripatetic tradition whose long catalogue of dialogues and commentaries — on riches, pleasure, justice, friendship, the gods — shows a philosopher writing on nearly every human concern. His anecdote about the rich man in love with an ugly woman reveals a pragmatist who thought desire could be redirected by a better offer, a small comic window into his ethics of pleasure and appetite. He matters as one of the quiet links in the chain that kept the Lyceum alive after its founders, embodying the school's shift from grand system-building to encyclopedic commentary.

## In the story

### [Book V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/book-v)

Appointed by Theophrastus in his will to oversee his burial and estate.

### [Strato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/strato)

Appointed by Strato as his successor to the school and bequeathed his books and furniture.

### [Lycon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/lycon)

Subject of the chapter; a Peripatetic philosopher from Troas, known for eloquence and education of youth.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters/lycon
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters