Lesbonax of Mytilene (Λεσβώναξ ὁ Μυτιληναῖος) was a Greek rhetorician and orator of the 1st century BCE. A native of Mytilene on Lesbos, he was the son of Sthenelaus and a contemporary of Cicero [2]. According to the Suda, he taught rhetoric in his hometown and counted Potamo, the future founder of an eclectic philosophical school in Alexandria, among his pupils [1].

His literary output consisted of orations. The Suda credits him with three political speeches (δημηγορικοὶ), though their titles are not recorded [1]. No complete works survive; his writings are considered lost and are known only through later references [1][2].

Lesbonax is a minor figure in Hellenistic rhetoric, primarily significant for his role as a teacher and his link to the more prominent Potamo of Alexandria. His lost corpus prevents a detailed assessment of his oratorical style, but his career exemplifies the continuity of Greek rhetorical education in the Eastern Mediterranean during the late Hellenistic period.

Sources 1. Suda, Lambda, 277 (Suda On Line): https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/lambda/277 2. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lesbonax-of-Mytilene