Euenus of Paros (Εὔηνος ὁ Πάριος)

Life Euenus of Paros was a Greek poet and sophist active in the latter half of the 5th century BCE. He is known primarily through references in Plato and Aristotle, which depict him as a teacher of poetic composition in Athens and a contemporary of Socrates [1][2]. The Byzantine Suda encyclopedia confirms his origin from Paros, lists him as a philosopher, poet, and rhetorician, and notes his association with the sophistic practice of teaching for a fee [5].

Works His work survives only in fragments, credited chiefly to elegiac poetry. No specific titles are recorded; his legacy consists of gnomic verses quoted by later authors like Plato and Aristotle [3][4].

Significance Euenus represents an intellectual at the intersection of poetry and the sophistic tradition. His significance lies in his treatment as a referenced authority by major philosophers; Plato situates him within the Athenian intellectual milieu, while Aristotle cites his verses as repositories of proverbial wisdom on ethics and conduct [3][4].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Plato's Phaedo): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-phaedo/ 2. Perseus Digital Library (Plato, Phaedo 60d): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0170%3Atext%3DPhaedo%3Asection%3D60d 3. Perseus Digital Library (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1121a): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Aristot.+Eth.+Nic.+1121a&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0053 4. Perseus Digital Library (Aristotle, Rhetoric 1370a): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Aristot.+Rh.+1370a&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0060 5. Suda Online (Euenus): https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/epsilon/3422