Timon of Fleiuntus

Timon of Fleiunt was very poor in his youth and supported himself as a professional dancer and theatre performer. His travels in the ancient world led him to study medicine. It was not until his fortieth year that he settled in Athens and became a philosopher and rhetorician. He was a very wealthy and respected citizen. His son Xanthus was a well-known physician.

Timon's verses are often quoted by the doxographers Sotion and Sextus Empiricus. After his death, his entire philosophical school disappeared with him. His views were characterized by a distrust of authoritatively proclaimed truths and theories that were not consistent with real life.

He was a very prolific author, where he excelled as a playwright. He wrote about thirty comedies and sixty tragedies. The most important is the large satirical poem Silloi, written in hexameters.