On Grief

work by Crantor

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July 1, 2026

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Crantor, a Greek academic philosopher from Cilicia (modern-day Turkey) in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, authored the work On Grief. This text established a new literary form known as the consolation, intended to offer comfort during times of misfortune, particularly death. Crantor's arguments in On Grief suggested that life itself is a form of punishment, and death offers release for the soul, echoing ideas found in Plato's Phaedo and Aristotle's Eudemus. His writings are now lost, but he was a student of Xenocrates and the teacher of Arcesilaus.1

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Crantor
…Greek academic philosopher whose work On Grief created a new literary genre, the consolation, which was offered on the occasion of a misfortune such as death. One of Crantor’s consolatory arguments, reminiscent of Plato’s Phaedo or Aristotle’s Eudemus, was that life is actually punishment; death, the release of the soul.…
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…Greek academic philosopher whose work On Grief created a new literary genre, the consolation, which was offered on the occasion of a misfortune such as death. One of Crantor’s consolatory arguments, reminiscent of Plato’s Phaedo or Aristotle’s Eudemus, was that life is actually punishment; death, the release of the soul.…
Read More