Augustus took TWO Didymus Philosophers from Alexandria

[Onasander]

Didymus Chalcenterus Didymus & Arius Didymus

 

Both undoubtedly associated with the Library of Alexandria, Arius Didymus apparently the more famous upon Octavian's landing in Egypt.

 

I'm guessing as one of the leading citizens of the city, he got a very early meeting with Octavian and felt comfortable enough with him to advise him to kill his relative, Caesar's son. He was brought back to Rome, and held in very high esteem in Augustus' household as resident philosopher, much like Seneca would later be under Nero, except in this earlier case it worked out much better chemistry wise.

 

Didymus means twin. I've been scratching my head as to who the other guy was, and was a idiot for not noticing it!

 

Both used compilations of other works. I can't rule out yet that their the same person, but I think two separate.

 

So this is a theory, but one that should make it easier to pinpoint any lost chapter fragments from Diogenes lost chapter on Arius Didymus.

 

Also shows Augustus was philosopher shopping in the immediacy of the aftermath of the war, and who he likely kept company with on the return back to Rome. I'm presuming due to Arius' bent inherited from his emphasis on Ethics Augustus' marriage reforms came from him.

 

I also note a Greek and Latin library opened up in Caesars honor in Rome roughly then too. Also note I don't recall mention of either at Augustus' boring masquerades.

 

Now, if Arius and his "Twin" were already famous enough to be immediately met upon Octavians landing (Augustus has a air to it like Theophrastus in terms of grandiose naming), it means....

 

Mark Anthony and Cleopatra likely were very energetic culturally in aligning the philosophical schools under them, and backing Anthony. Anthony would of needed the library for planning far flung operations, and it's a damn good place to recruit intelligent spies with ties to schools spread across the ancient world, Rome as well as Antioch, Athens, Perganum (if he didn't piss off the local philosophers when he offered Cleo all the books in that library).

 

I'm guessing one of them was the head of the library, while the other lead a philosophy school, or one of the lesser city hermuenetic schools (Jews known for having such places).

 

Best insight I can offer for now. Might change later on when I dig up more info in the future. Very hard to do.

Edited March 8, 2015 by Onasander