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

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

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0037-xenocrates

## Snapshot

Plato's slow, solemn successor at the Academy, so rigidly grave that Plato told him to sacrifice to the Graces.

## Who they are

Xenocrates inherits the Academy after Plato and rules it as a kind of living statue: austere, trustworthy, and famously unmoved when the courtesan Phryne takes refuge in his bed. Plato's jibe that he needs the spur while Aristotle needs the bridle captures his sluggish, deliberate temper, and his refusal of most of Alexander's money reveals a man who measures wealth by need rather than display. His severity becomes the moral standard against which later Academic figures like Polemo and Crates are measured.

## Relationships

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

_professional_

Xenocrates was a student of Plato and later became head of the Academy.

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

_professional_

Xenocrates was a student of Plato and later became head of the Academy.

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

_professional_

Xenocrates was a student of Plato and later became 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)

Listed as a disciple; anecdote about Plato asking him to scourge a slave.

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

Mentioned as a disciple and in an anecdote about scolding a slave.

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

A solemn and continent pupil of Plato, known for his incorruptibility, trustworthiness, and self-discipline, even resisting the courtesan Phryne.

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

Invited by Speusippus to become his successor in the Academy.

### [Xenocrates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/xenocrates)

Subject of the chapter; pupil of Plato, head of the Academy, known for his gravity and self-control.

### [Polemo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/polemo)

Polemo's teacher; his discourse on temperance inspires Polemo's reformation.

### [Crantor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/crantor)

Teacher of Crantor at the Academy.

### [Aristotle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/aristotle)

Mentioned as a recipient of gifts from Alexander to annoy Aristotle, and as a subject of one of Aristotle's works.

## Links

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