The writing of school histories from a self-consciously ‘late' standpoint is one of the developments that David Sedley has identified as marking the ‘end of the history of philosophy' in the first century BC. Within this context, Philodemus' History of the Academy (part of his Syntaxis of the Philosophers) takes stock of the Academy under the assumption that by his time it has more or less run its course. This paper will take account of this approach by Philodemus in order to offer an interpretation of what he, as an Epicurean, has to say about the internal workings of the Academy (succession of scholarchs, conduct of debates, circulation of books), as well as about its relations with the ‘outside world' (political involvement of Academics, links with centres of power, influence outside Athens). Particular attention will be paid to the less-studied sections from Arcesilaus to Clitomachus. (Myrto Hatzimichali, University of Cambridge)
