Person

Demetrius of Phalerum

c. 350–c. 280 BCE · 4th century BCE · Also known as Demetrius Phalereus

Demetrius of Phalerum was an Athenian statesman and Peripatetic philosopher, a pupil of Theophrastus. Installed by Cassander, he governed Athens from 317 to 307 BCE, reforming its laws and limiting luxury, until Demetrius Poliorcetes expelled him. He later went to Alexandria, where he is said to have advised Ptolemy I on founding the Library.

Demetrius of Phalerum
Image: Yair Haklai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 profiles

AthensDeclineAntigonid Kingdom of MacedoniaFoundation

Mentioned in 1 state history

Antipatrid Kingdom of Macedonia

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Demetrius of Phalerum. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/demetrius-of-phalerum
MLA
“Demetrius of Phalerum.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/demetrius-of-phalerum. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Demetrius of Phalerum.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/demetrius-of-phalerum.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Demetrius of Phalerum’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/demetrius-of-phalerum (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻