Heracleodorus (4th century BCE)
student of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato

Heracleodorus (Ancient Greek: Ἡρακλεόδωρος) was a student of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who, after being for some time under the instruction of that philosopher, became negligent, and gave himself up to idleness; a charge which drew a letter of criticism from Demosthenes, who is said to have been a fellow student of Plato at the time.
This letter is mentioned in a fragment of the commentary on Plato's Gorgias written by Olympiodorus the Younger, preserved in the manuscript collection of Praeannotamenta Miscellanea in Platonem, in what was the imperial library at Vienna and is now the Austrian National Library.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Means, Joseph Calrow (1870). "Heracleodorus". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 2. p. 392-393.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Heracleodorus (4th century BCE)” is student of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Heracleodorus, century and student, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “student of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 3, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q11925443. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1870.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Heracleodorus (4th century BCE)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Heracleodorus (4th century BCE) primary sources, Heracleodorus (4th century BCE) archive and Heracleodorus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Heracleodorus (4th century BCE)”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Heracleodorus (4th century BCE)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.