A peculiar academic history of presocratic philosophy: Cicero’s Varro and Lucullus under scrutiny

In this article, I will try to present the peculiar ‘museum of sceptical Presocratic ancestors’ constructed by the New Academy by concentrating on the account offered by Cicero in the Academici libri, both in his Varro and, albeit with different nuances, in his Lucullus. My aim will be to highlight the historical and theoretical contours of the appeal to Presocratic thinkers, both from the point of view of Cicero as the (sometimes original?) spokesman for Arcesilaus’ positions, and from that of Lucullus, whose positions instead reflect the very different and dogmatic interpretation of the past offered by Antiochus.