# Pherecydes of Syros — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers character guide

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

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Pherecydes of Pythagoras

**First appearance:** 0014-pherecydes

## Snapshot

A Syrian who taught Pythagoras, foretold shipwrecks and earthquakes, and wrote the first Greek prose cosmogony before dying of a disease so grotesque it became a proverb.

## Who they are

Pherecydes of Syros stands at the hinge between myth and philosophy, writing of Zeus, Time, and Chthon as the first principles of the world. He predicts disasters with unsettling accuracy, advises Sparta to renounce gold and silver, and dies of the lousy disease—his finger through the door a final, grisly lesson. He matters because he is the teacher of Pythagoras and the first Greek to write about the gods in prose, making him a quiet origin point for everything the book's later philosophers inherit.

## In the story

### [Thales](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/thales)

Addressee of a letter from Thales, who expresses interest in studying under him.

### [Pherecydes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/pherecydes)

Central figure of the chapter; a Syrian philosopher and theologian, pupil of Pittacus, and master of Pythagoras. Known for his prophecies, his work on natural philosophy and the gods, and his death by the lousy disease.

### [Pythagoras](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/pythagoras)

Mentioned as a teacher of Pythagoras.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters/pherecydes
- 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