Siro the Epicurean

Siro (also Syro, Siron, or Syron; fl. c. 50 BC) was an Epicurean philosopher who lived in Naples.

He was a teacher of Virgil,^[1] and taught at his school in Naples. There are two poems attributed to Virgil in the Appendix Vergiliana,^[2] which mention Siro, and where the author speaks of seeking peace in the company of Siro:

I am setting sail for the havens of the blest to seek the wise sayings of great Siro, and will redeem my life from all care.^[3]

Cicero also mentions Siro several times and speaks of Siro along with Philodemus as being "excellent citizens and most learned men."^[4] The 5th-century commentator Servius claimed that Siro was commemorated in Virgil's sixth Eclogue as the character Silenus.^[5]

Notes

^ Donatus, Vita Vergilii, 79.
^ Virgil, Catalepton, 5; Catalepton, 8.
^ Virgil, Catalepton, 5.
^ Cicero, de Finibus, ii. 35
^ Servius on Eclogue 6.1

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[1] Donatus, Vita Vergilii, 79.

[2] Virgil, Catalepton, 5; Catalepton, 8.

[3] Virgil, Catalepton, 5.

[4] Cicero, de Finibus, ii. 35

[5] Servius on Eclogue 6.1

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