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

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

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Athenian, Speusippus the Athenian

**First appearance:** 0036-speusippus

## Snapshot

Plato's nephew and successor at the Academy, remembered less for doctrine than for the sharp contrast between his philosophic heirs and the Athens around him.

## Who they are

Speusippus takes over the Academy when Plato dies, inheriting a school already thick with rivalries and strong personalities. Diogenes Laërtius frames him amid a swirl of successors — Xenocrates, Aristotle, and others — each jockeying for the master's mantle, and the narrative lingers on the tensions of loyalty, ambition, and philosophical inheritance. His brief tenure matters because it marks the moment the Academy must define itself without Plato, setting up the generations of Platonists who follow.

## Relationships

### [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters/plato)

_family_

Speusippus was Plato's nephew and succeeded him as head of the Academy.

### [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters/plato)

_family_

Speusippus was Plato's nephew and succeeded him as head of the Academy.

## In the story

### [Book III: The Life, Will, and Legacy of Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/book-iii)

Named as an executor of Plato's will and listed as a disciple.

### [Book IV: The Successors of Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/book-iv)

Plato's nephew and successor, known for his passionate nature and love of pleasure, yet a pioneer in investigating the connections between sciences.

### [Speusippus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/speusippus)

Plato's nephew and successor; passionate, pleasure-loving, innovator in philosophical method; died by suicide after paralysis.

### [Heraclides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/heraclides)

First teacher of Heraclides in Athens.

### [Parmenides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/parmenides)

Recorded that Parmenides gave laws to his fellow-citizens.

## Links

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