# Pittacus of Mytilene — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers character guide

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

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** wise Pittacus, old Pittacus

**First appearance:** 0007-pittacus

## Snapshot

The Mytilenean sage who answered a young man's marriage question by pointing at boys whipping tops, and who said even the gods cannot fight necessity.

## Who they are

Pittacus of Mytilene, one of the Seven Sages, ruled his city and then gave it up, and his sayings survive as a kind of practical ethics: power shows the man, watch your opportunity, do not reproach a man with his misfortunes lest Nemesis overtake you. Asked which of two marriages to choose, he refused a straight answer and instead gestured to children whipping tops, who chanted 'mind your own' — a lesson the suitor took to heart. He is the sage of measured ambition, and his presence in the Lives gives the collection its counterweight of sober, civic wisdom against the more flamboyant philosophers.

## In the story

### [Pittacus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/pittacus)

The central figure of the chapter; a wise lawgiver, general, and former tyrant of Mitylene, known for his aphorisms and just rule.

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

Mentioned as the teacher of Pherecydes according to Alexander in his Successions.

## Links

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