Clitomachus (Hasdrubal of Carthage)

Hasdrubal was born in Carthage and received a thorough education in his native Phoenician tongue before sailing for Athens at age twenty-four. Adopting the Greek name Clitomachus, he dedicated himself to philosophy under Carneades at Plato's Academy, becoming the foremost exponent of Academic Skepticism.

In 129 BC, he was elected Scholarch (director) of the Academy, leading it with immense prestige. When Carthage was destroyed in 146 BC, Clitomachus composed a moving philosophical treatise addressed to his exiled countrymen consoling them on the loss of their fatherland. Cicero praised his intellect and relied extensively on his writings for his own philosophical dialogues.