yes, the gaps are unfortunate. I also noticed that various interpretations have been proposed over the years. If it is a case of double naming, another parallel would be the Cynic philosopher Peregrinus, who took the name “Proteus”. Then, shortly before his death, he adopted the name “Phoenix” (according to Lucian).

I am not aware of any study that looks specifically at the use of nicknames by Greek philosophers, but the website of the “Lexicon of Greek Personal names” states, “famous people, such as Kings and intellectual figures such as philosophers, often acquired nicknames (King Antigonos Monophthalmos, the ‘One Eyed’, Dio Chrysostom, the ‘golden mouthed’ i.e. eloquent).”

Other studies of data from Egypt and Asia minor have suggested that the practice of double naming was at its peak in the second century.

Interesting observations here. My answer is that I’m not sure. This practice of naming may well be discussed somewhere. The difficulty with this inscription is that it has significant gaps.

Phil

I looked up the Perseus inscription, which seems to reflect the tendency of ancient philosophers to receive new names.

Firstly, of course, the term “Cynic” comes from the name “KUNOS” (dog), given to the philosopher Diogenes (also of Sinope).

Secondly, and intriguingly, Perseus here seems to have been called “wing” (Pteron). Is this also a case of a philosopher being given a new name? The two names have in common the Pi, Epsilon, and Rho, so they have phonetic similarity, which may be no coincidence. An example of this type of double naming of a philosopher with phonetic similarity is provided by the case of Amelius, Plotinus’s leading student, who was given the name “Amerius” (unification). This is recorded in the Life of Plotinus, by “Porphyry” (which was also a new name).

If you have David French’s email address, perhaps you could ask him to comment.