Gaius Appuleius Diotimus: The Cynic Who Faked an Epicurus
Diotimus, a Cynic philosopher, tried to destroy Epicurus’ reputation by forging fifty fake letters—each one nastier than the last.
Panini — "Interior of Saint Peter's, Rome" (after 1754), public domain
He Faked Fifty Letters
When arguments failed, Diotimus got creative. He forged dozens of letters—attributed to Epicurus himself—packed with petty scandals and backstabbing. Suddenly, the great philosopher looked mean, shallow, ridiculous.
Caught in the Act
It worked for a while. Rivals sneered, students defected. But Diotimus pushed too far: the fraud was uncovered, and a Roman court convicted him. His name became a cautionary tale—the first historian of ‘fake news’ wasn’t a journalist, but a philosopher.
In Rome’s cutthroat world of ideas, Diotimus played dirty. He invented whole documents to slander another school, gambling that he could poison a reputation by sheer volume. It almost worked—until he was exposed and convicted. For this, Diotimus became ancient history’s patron saint of smear campaigns.
