Theophrastus left the Lyceum garden to ten men in common, Athens briefly banned unlicensed schools on pain of death, and Sulla's army wrecked the site

Theophrastus succeeded Aristotle at the Lyceum and lectured to about 2,000 pupils. After Aristotle's death he obtained a garden of his own through his friend Demetrius of Phalerum, governor of Athens. When Demetrius was expelled in 307 BC, Sophocles son of Amphiclides passed a law that no philosopher could run a school without the permission of the Council and people, on pain of death. The philosophers left Athens. Philo prosecuted Sophocles, who was fined five talents, the law was repealed, and Theophrastus returned. His will left the garden, the walk and the houses beside it to ten named friends, Strato, Neleus and Callinus among them, to study philosophy there together, on condition that no one sell it or take it for private use. He left his library to Neleus and asked to be buried anywhere in the garden without expense. Strato's will later left the school to Lyco because, it said, of the rest some were too old and others too busy. Lyco's will left it to ten friends to choose whoever would best carry on the work. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy says Sulla's sack of Athens in 86 BC destroyed much of the Lyceum. Its remains were rediscovered in central Athens and opened to the public in 2014.