[German Version]

(c. 371 bce, Eresos, Lesbos – 286 bce, Athens), philosopher, student of Aristotle, whom he followed on his journeys after Plato’s death (347) and succeeded as head of the Peripatetic school in 322. Theophrastus was a renowned teacher and is reported to have had 2,000 students. Given that the catalogue of his works contains 225 titles, covering many fields, he clearly had enormous influence. In the 17th century, his work on moral characters inspired the literary genre of the character stu…