Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

​Crates was the son of Antigenes, an Athenian from the deme of Thria, and was both a pupil and the favorite of Polemo; moreover, he succeeded to his school. And the two loved each other so much that, while living, they not only pursued the same practices, but even grew so like each other almost down to their very breathing, and when they died, they shared the same grave. Hence Antagoras wrote of them both in this manner: "Say, passer-by, that in this tomb god-fearing Crates and Polemo are hidden, men large-hearted in agreement of mind, from whose inspired mouth sacred discourse went forth, and their pure life, obedient to unswerving doctrines, adorned a godlike age with wisdom."

​Hence also Arcesilaus, having migrated from Theophrastus to them, used to say that they were certain gods or relics of the golden race. For indeed the two were not courters of the crowd; rather, they were such as they say the flute-player Dionysodorus once spoke of himself, priding himself on the fact that no one had ever heard any of his melodies either on a trireme or at a fountain, as was the case with Ismenias. Antigonus says that Crates had his mess with Crantor, as they and Arcesilaus lived together in harmony. As for their dwelling, Arcesilaus lived with Crantor, while Polemo together with Crates lived with Lysicles, one of the citizens. And he says that Crates, as mentioned before, was the favorite of Polemo, while Arcesilaus was that of Crantor.

​When Crates died, as Apollodorus says in the third book of his Chronicles, he left behind books, some on philosophical subjects, some on comedy, and others being speeches for the popular assembly and for embassies. Furthermore, he left distinguished disciples, among whom were Arcesilaus, of whom we shall speak—for he too was a hearer of Crates—and Bion of Borysthenes, who was afterwards called a Theodorean from his sect, of whom we shall also speak immediately after Arcesilaus. There have been ten men named Crates: the first, the poet of the Old Comedy; the second, an orator of Tralles, of the school of Isocrates; the third, an excavator of trenches who accompanied Alexander; the fourth, the Cynic, of whom we shall speak; the fifth, a Peripatetic philosopher; the sixth, the Academic mentioned above; the seventh, a grammarian of Mallus; the eighth, a writer on geometry; the ninth, an epigrammatic poet; the tenth, an Academic philosopher of Tarsus.