  Philodemus spent time in Alexandria, perhaps around 90–86 BCE, before he went to Athens (Index Academicorum, PHerc. 1021 col. 34.3–5). His stay in the Egyptian capital, which had become a center of intellectual production, is perhaps when Philodemus met and became friendly with Antiochus of Ascalon as well as various other philosophers, perhaps including Epicureans, who may have urged him to move on to Athens to study with Zeno (on Philodemus’ time in Alexandria, see Fleischer 2016: 89–104, also Fleischer 2017b on Academics working in Alexandria at this time; on Philodemus’ account of the history of the Academy, see Section 2.2.5.5).