ANCIENT GREEEK FEMALE PHILOSOPHERS

         Most people in our planet mainly know the ancient Greek male philosophers. But what about female philosophers in Ancient Greece? History can show us some interesting examples of them, like the following ones:

 

1)      DIOTIMA

 

        Diotima is one of the most famous female ancient Greek philosophers. She was a priestess in Mantineia. Plato refers to her in his work "Symposion" or "On Love". In this particular work, Socrates mentions Diotima as his teacher and states that he owes to her his views on beautiful and true. Proclus believed that Diotima belonged to the Pythagorean philosophers while Xenophon stated that Diotima was well acquainted with even the most difficult geometric theorems.

 

2)      AXIOTHEA

 

 

        Axiothea was born in Flioundas, Peloponnese, in the 4th century BC.. Since women were not allowed to enter the Academy at that time, she attended classes there, dressed as a man. She was one of the most intelligent students of the Academy. Later she taught in Corinth and Athens.

 

3)      LASTHENIA

 

        Lasthenia was from Arcadia and studied mathematics and philosophy at the Plato Academy dressed as a man. After Plato's death, Lasthenia continued her studies with his nephew Speusippus, whom he fell in love with and remained close to. According to Aristophanes the Peripatetic, Lasthenia formulated the definition of the sphere as follows:

        "The sphere is a solid body, enclosed by a surface and having a point whose distances from all points of the aforementioned surface are equal to each other."

  

4)      ARITI

 

 

        Ariti (4th-3rd century BC) was the daughter of the founder of the Cyrenaic School of Philosophy, Aristippus. She studied at the Plato Academy. She taught mathematics, physics and philosophy in Attica for many years and wrote at least 40 books. After the death of her father, she became the director of his school. Among her students were about 100 philosophers.

        Ariti's successor at the helm of the school was her son, Aristippus the Younger, who was taught philosophy by his mother and was named "mother-taught".

 

5)      THEMISTA

 

        One of the most intelligent spirits of the 4th century BC. was the philosopher Themista, who was a student of Epicurus and was his spiritual support for the time he lived in Lampsacus. She was married to the philosopher Leontios Lampsakinos while she gave her son the name "Epikouros" in honor of her teacher.

 

        The life of Themista was an example of the application of the philosophy of Epicurus, being an anthem for friendship and mutual respect of people. Epicurus' appreciation for Themista was so great that later the Stoic philosopher Cicero wrote, full of indignation, that Epicurus never spoke of Lycurgus, Solon, Miltiades or Themistocles, as all other philosophers did, but devoted thick volumes in Themista.

 

 

6)      HIPPARCHIA

 

 

        Hipparchia was born in 325 or 328 in Maronia, Thrace to a wealthy family. She was the first female student of the cynical school of Thebes, where Kratis taught. Hipparchy fell in love with her teacher, who was ugly and hunchbacked and followed his way of life, despite the objections of her family. This is how she spent her life philosophizing, and making love in public. She had a daughter, who erotically tested all of her parents' students for a month to reach the best.

        Hipparchia wrote many books, but none survives.

 

 7)      AMPHIKLEIA

 

        Amfikleia lived in Rome around 260 AD, and had a special place among the students of the philosopher Plotinus. She was in charge of the hymns and the symbolic ceremonies of the school.

 

8)      SOSIPATRA

 

        Sosipatra lived at the beginning of the 4th century BC and came from Canopus in Egypt. She was a student at the Syrian school of Iamblichus, where she was taught Pythagorean philosophy, ancient theology and numerology. At that time, the director of her school was Edessios, who fell in love with her because of her charismatic personality. However, she married her fellow student, Efstathios, who after the death of Edessios, became the director of his school.

After the death of her husband, Sosipatra went to Pergamon, where she became popular for her philosophical abilities. The Christians described her as a witch and fought her. After her death, she was succeeded in her work by her son, Antoninos, who was killed by the Christians inside the temple of Serapis, because he was a defender of the old religion.

  

9)      ASKLIPIGENIA

 

        The Neoplatonic philosopher Asklipigenia lived in the 5th century BC and was the daughter of the philosopher Plutarch and the granddaughter of Nestorius. After the death of her father, she took over his students, the most famous of whom was Proclus. Later, her daughter, Asklipigenia the Younger, became the successor of her work, who fought with her partner, Theagenis, to defend their ideas, a time when ancient knowledge was being pursued.

 

 10)  EDESSIA

 

        Edessia was a philosopher from Alexandria, who was distinguished for her great education. She attended classes with her uncle, Syrianos, who wanted to marry her to Proclus but the last one refused. Eventually she married Hermes and had two children, Ammonius and Heliodorus. After the death of her husband, Edessia came to Athens, where she continued her philosophical work and was honored by all the philosophers of her time, among whom was Proclus. When she died, her funeral speech was delivered in hexametric verses by the then young Damascius, who was the director of the Academy.