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.

THE TURN OF SOPHISTIC THOUGHT TO MAN AND HIS SOUL

The 5th BC century was undoubtedly a time of important historical events and intellectual achievements of the Greek world. Between the Persian and the Peloponnesian War, architecture, painting, sculpture, theater, philosophy, rhetoric presented an admirable activity of a high level. The center of the cultural flourishing of the Greek world of the 5th century was the city-state of Athens and this century became known in history as the Golden Age of Pericles.

The focus of the philosophical thought of the golden age presents a significant shift. There is a decrease in its cosmological interest and a turn towards man and his soul. The philosophical movement that first dealt with these great issues was the sophistry.

The sophists were interested not only in the issues of human knowledge and practice but also in psychology, behavior, positions and relationships within society, social phenomena and culture. They were moving from city to city to teach as professionals rhetoric, dialectics, ethics, political theory, mythology, music theory, astronomy and meteorology. Their goal was to make their students as capable as possible in thinking, speaking and acting, in order to be as successful as possible in their lives and to contribute to social developments.

The father of sophistry was Protagoras (490/485 - 420/ 415 BC), who supported the uninterrupted variability of things. He believed that things can not be said to be one way or another but that they are as everyone sees them at every moment. He also argued that man can know nothing about the gods because they are invisible and human life is short.

Another extremely important sophist was Gorgias (490 / 483 - 380 / 376 BC). He opposed the Eleatic belief that facts are almost illusions and defended common sense and the daily experience of people as the only criteria for knowledge. He also argued that the human crisis is based not on objective truths but on current, unproven and often contradictory perceptions and prejudices. The denial of the absolute truth, led Gorgias to the belief that man has no knowledge but only an opinion of reality.

Gorgias was the first philosopher who strongly believed in the power of speech. So at first he turned his attention to rhetoric, which was for him a way of convincing man of what the rhetor was seeking each time. He was, therefore, the first to study the effect of speech on the human psyche. He stated that "speech can stop fear and sadness, can activate joy and can increase compassion". He argued that  speech is for the soul what drugs are for the body. He said that art, magic and religion are based on the same principle as speech, which seek to "charm" the soul and "transform" it into the state they want.

A third important sophist was Antiphon (480 BC - 410 BC). He argued that nature and law are opposite. Nature does not distinguish between Greeks and barbarians, free and slaves. For his happiness someone must give importance to natural law over man's law.

Other important representatives of sophistry were Prodicus, Thrasymachus and Kritias. The latter was the first to deal with the forms of states, the discoveries and the history of civilization. Finally, Hippias was the "encyclopedist" of sophistry. He wrote introductions to dialectics, geometry, astronomy, music, rhythm and dealt with problems of art theory, prehistory and linguistics.

The importance of sophistry was that it brought to the center of the study man, his knowledge and practice, founded dialectics and logic, initiated psychology, took an interest in social problems and studied the origin of language, art and culture in general.

THE BIRTH OF THE ATOMIC THEORY IN GREECE OF THE 5TH B.C. CENTURY

One of the most important achievements of ancient Greek thought of the 5th century BC was undoubtedly the genesis of the concept of the atom, this tiny amount of matter that has occupied scientists and philosophers for thousands of years.

The important current that first conceived this idea was the atomic philosophy. Its representatives studied with the "Dorian" Eleatan philosophers but also opposed them. They therefore accepted the doctrine of their teachers that "BEING" is unborn and incorruptible but at the same time claimed that it moves and is divided.

Atomic philosophers first acknowledged the coexistence of emptiness and non-emptiness in the universe. The existence of a vacuum is a necessary condition for the possibility of division of physical bodies. However, they rejected the view of Zeno the Eleat about the infinite division of bodies. That is, they supported the existence of finite molecules of matter, which can not be further cut and remain atoms. Thus the theory of the atom was conceived.

The most important atomic philosopher was Democritus (470/460 - 400/390 BC) from Abdera in Thrace, the most versatile and methodical mind before Aristotle. He dealt with issues of physics, epistemology, human behavior, social and political organization.

Democritus defined the atom as unborn, incorruptible, unchangeable, complete and perfect, uniformly compact, free from emptiness, simple, unified and amorphous, without fluctuations, dilutions and densities or expansions and contractions, indivisible and with definite boundaries. In his opinion, atoms were infinite in number and shapes and moved eternally into space.

An important difference between the theory of Democritus and that of the Eleats was that the former meant substance not metaphysically but materially. At the same time, he considered the phenomena of nature not as an illusion of people but as something that happens around the essence.

As for how a world is created, Democritus taught that it is composed when in a large space void many atoms collide with each other to form a vortex. In the vortex, similar atoms are attracted to each other and form known physical bodies such as fire, water, air and earth. Then the heavier materials gather in the center and create the earth while the lighter ones are pushed towards the periphery creating the celestial bodies and the meteorological phenomena. Thus infinite worlds are synthesized and decomposed. In fact, he defined as their way of destruction the fall of one world over another. Finally, he argued that in some worlds there is no sun and moon while in others there are many such celestial bodies. In addition, the philosopher believed that in many worlds there are no liquids, animals and plants.

Democritus also formulated positions in the field of biology. Thus he argued that the skills and organs of the various animals were created by chance and that only those organs that seemed necessary to preserve each species were saved. The philosopher also considered every living organism as a small world.

As for the soul, Democritus considered it as a physical body, with a composition like fire, he identified it with the mind and believed that it wears together with the body.

For knowledge, the philosopher taught that it is related to the situations that surround each person and that the truth is at the bottom, that is, in the void and in atoms. The process of knowledge was for him a natural mechanism, which in fact was based on the "dark" sense and the "genuine" intellect. For the second to exist, a necessary condition was the existence of the first, as Aristotle later believed.

Finally, a characteristic formulation of the philosopher about the importance of teaching was this: "Teaching is close to nature because it restructures human nature and thus creates a new nature."

Today, about 300 excerpts from numerous books by Democritus survive.

2 CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHERS WHO COMBINED IONIAN WITH DORIC ARCHAIC THOUGHT

Archaic Ionian and Doric philosophical thought clearly laid the foundations of European philosophy. With the passage to the classical period, the Greek philosophers pondered the pre-existing opposing conceptions and formulated their own. Through their theories, then, they tried to logically marry the "immovable" of the Ionians with the "unchanging" of the Dorian philosophers.

Thus the classical era begins with two important Greek Combinatorial philosophers, Empedocles (494-434 BC) and Anaxagoras (500-428 BC).

Empedocles, therefore, taught that the universe is composed and decomposed by four unchanging "rhizomes": water, earth, air and fire. In his view, each genesis and decay is caused by mixing the four aforementioned "rhizomes" in different proportions for each morphology. This view was later accepted by the Atomic philosophers. In addition, Empedocles described the universe as immovable in its entirety according to the Eleatic model but as moving in its parts according to the Heraclitean model.

Anaxagoras' interests were a little different. He was the first to raise the issue of nutrition. He sought to explain how from the food we put in the mouth, things are formed that did not exist before, that is, flesh from non-flesh, bones from non-bones, etc. He finally came to the conclusion that matter is composed of molecules of all kinds, forms, shape, size and number. He also argued that in every physical body there are molecules of all kinds. For example, water and bread contain elements of the same nature as our body, so there are no simple elements, "rhizomes" (water, air, earth, fire). In addition, according to Anaxagoras, the amount of matter remains constant. Finally, Anaxagoras considered the Mind as a driving force for the processes of genesis, which for him was a substance completely different from the components of matter. Thus he continued the notions of the division of the concept of substance into matter and energy.

4 ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS SEARCH FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF THE WORLD

The archaic era of Greek history was very important for the evolution of Greek and European culture. The main reason is that then the foundations of philosophical thought were laid. The general social and political conditions in the life of the Greeks contributed in this direction. In the 6th century BC the kingdom and the aristocracy were set aside. New social classes, such as those of the merchants and artisans, emerged between the ranks of the wealthy landowners and the poor workers. In the context of social change, the way of thinking has changed. Belief in myth ceased and the human mind began to wonder about nature, spirit, knowledge, practice, society and the law. A special field of intellectual creation that is a testimony to the new spiritual interests of the Greeks of the archaic period is their lyric poetry.

Until the 6th century BC the Greeks tried to attribute the creation of the world to anthropomorphic deities, for whom they had created a rich set of myths. The first steps of philosophy were based on these myths. So the first perception of the series of events that gave birth to the world was this:

1) Initially there was a chaotic situation.

2) The chaotic state was fertilized by some sperm.

3) The produced material result was divided into parts.

4) Then the celestial bodies and the phenomena were formed.

5) Life was born.

The first important philosopher to attempt to interpret the world was Thales (625-546). He considered water as the beginning of the world. After traveling to the east gaining rich knowledge, he systematically engaged in astronomy, mathematics, geography and engineering. In place of the mythical deities of the seas and rivers, he put the natural element of water as part of the world, arguing that it has life in it and favors its development.

In 610 - 546 BC the philosopher Anaximander also lived. He set "Infinity" as the beginning of the world, which expressed the physical existence of the mythical entities Chaos, Night, Air, Ocean. Beginning with infinity, Anaximander proceeded to formulate the concept of the Incorruptibility of Matter.

Anaximander's version of the creation of the world is interesting. He considered that from "infinity" was secreted the "fertile", that is, the sperm of the hot and the cold. Thus a cold nucleus that eventually formed the earth's mass was surrounded by warm material, which exploded creating the rest of the celestial bodies. Anaximander considered temperature transitions as a mechanism for the creation of life. Finally, Anaximander was the first to claim that man came from other species of animals.

Anaximenes (585-525 BC) considered air as a basic element of the world and believed that all material bodies and natural phenomena are created by its thickening and dilution. By air he meant matter and energy together. He also taught that the air was before the birth of the universe and remains forever its basic essence, advancing the issue of cosmogony in cosmology. Considering hot, cold, wet and dry as states of the air, he tried to understand the qualities of matter and the explanations of quantities.

Heraclitus (540-480 BC) was the fourth and most important materialist philosopher of the archaic era. This philosopher considered the universe as a fire that transforms into various forms. He also taught that "Τhis world, the same for all in general, neither god nor man made it but it has always been and is will be an eternal fire, which lights up in moderation and goes out in moderation."

Explaining the structure of the world, the philosopher formulated the notion that fire first turns into sea and half of it into land while the other half into currents. All this becomes fire again.

One of the well-known views of Heraclitus was that "Everything changes and nothing remains constant."

6 GREAT FEMALE SCIENTISTS OF ANCIENT GREECE

After my reference, in a previous post, to creative women of fine arts in Ancient Greece, I would like to refer to six important ancient Greek scientists.

Let's start with Aglaoniki, the daughter of the king of Thessaly, Igitor. This was the first female astronomer in Greece. Apollodorus writes that Aglaoniki could accurately calculate the time of the eclipses of the Sun and the Moon. She was helped by the Chaldean eclipse cycle, which she modified.

In modern times the name of the ancient Greek astronomer was given to the homonymous crater of the southern hemisphere of Aphrodite.

The next memorable Greek scientist was the doctor Agnodiki, who lived in the 4th century BC. century. At that time, women were not allowed to practice medicine, so in order to study it, Agnodiki disguised herself as a man and thus presented herself at the University of Alexandria. The Greek doctor later began to practice her profession, continuing to be disguised as a man. To her clients, of course, her secret was confessed. As her reputation for scientific success grew, the jealousy of her fellow doctors against her began to grow. She was therefore falsely accused of having illicit relations with her female patients. Thus, Agnodiki was forced to reveal that she was a woman, a fact that led her to trial. At the trial, all the women who were treated by her defended her. Thus Agnodiki was acquitted and the law on the abortion of women in medical science was repealed.

Aspasia was another exception of an ancient Greek woman who dealt with medical science and more specifically with gynecology and obstetrics. Her views and techniques were so remarkable that they were adopted by various doctors and surgeons of the Byzantine period.

Aspasia introduced her own surgical techniques for uterine hemorrhoids, varicoceles, and hydroceles, both of which are similar to recent, modern methods.She developed a technique for moving a breech baby to ease delivery.She also worked on preventive medicine with pregnant women.

Antiochis was a Greek physician and pharmacologist from Lycia. She became known for her book "Syntagologio". Her work was recognized by her compatriots, who in the 1st century AD erected a column in her honor with the inscription:

"For Antiochida, daughter of Didotos from the city of Tlos,

recognized by the Parliament and the Municipality of the city of Tlos

for her experience in medical science

this column has been set up. "

Cleopatra was a woman with excellent knowledge of Chemistry. She is known for her work "Gold production". Another well-known work of hers was "Cosmetics". In it he wrote about cosmetics, hair dyes, prescriptions for alopecia, hair loss, hair growth etc.

Finally, the famous Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, who was born in Alexandria in 370 AD, should definitely be mentioned.

In 392 AD Hypatia traveled to Athens, where he studied at the Neoplatonic School of Plutarch the Younger and his daughter, Asclepigenia. She also studied with Proclus and Hierocles. Then she went to Rome, where she continued her studies impressing with her intelligence and eloquence.

In 398 Hypatia returned to Alexandria, where he taught mathematics and philosophy. In 400 he succeeded Plotinus in the seat of philosophy at the Museum.

Isichius the Jew, who was her student, wrote about her:

"She was wearing the simple cloak of the philosopher and was running through the center of the city, publicly explaining the texts of Plato and Aristotle to those who wanted to hear them."

Hypatia produced a rich body of work on mathematics, astronomy, engineering and philosophy. Unfortunately this was destroyed by the burning of the library of Alexandria. Some of its excerpts were saved in works by other authors.

Hypatia also built a device for refining water, an instrument for measuring water level, and a graduated bronze hydrometer for measuring the specific gravity of a liquid.

Hypatia's insistence not to embrace Christianity, its teaching and its involvement in the political life of Alexandria, turned the Christian leadership of the city against it. Thus in 415 AD, under the orders of Cyril, the Patriarch of Alexandria, a fanatical mob of Christians violently dragged her into the streets and executed her with shells and shells.

The death of Hypatia was considered the end of ancient science.

THE HISTORIC ISLAND OF DELOS: Images from the interesting Greek TV programme "The time machine" ("Η μηχανή του χρόνου").

Most foreigners visiting Greece usually have in mind various cosmopolitan islands that are offered for tourism and entertainment. But how many people know the enchanting island of Delos in the Cyclades complex?

PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENTS AND BUILDINGS IN GREECE AND IN CYPRUS

Positions of Prehistoric Settlements in Greece. National Archeological Museum of Athens	The first residential buildings in Greece  are estimated to have been built  during the Paleolithic period, around  20000 BC. These were huts. During  the Neolithic period (7000-3500 BC)  the inhabitants of the Greek area  began to settle in permanent  settlements engaged in agriculture.  Then the "property of the land" begins  to exist.
National Archeological Museum of Athens.
Prehistoric Settlement in Dimini,  Magnisia, Greece. National Archeological Museum of Athens	Prehistoric Settlement in Dimini,  Magnisia, Greece. National Archeological Museum of Athens
Prehistoric Settlement in Dimini,  Magnisia, Greece. National Archeological Museum of Athens	Prehistoric Settlement in Sesklo,  Magnisia, Greece.
Ruins at the prehistoric settlement in Lianokladi, Lamia, Central Greece. "Palaiomylos" position.	Ruins at the prehistoric settlement in Lianokladi, Lamia, Central Greece. "Palaiomylos" postition.
Reconstruction of a prehistoric settlement in Dispilio, Kastoria, North Greece.	Prehistoric settlement in Choirokoitia, Cyprus.
Prehistoric settlement in Sarkos, Ios, Cyclades.	Prehistoric settlement in Akrotiri, Thera, Cyclades.
Neolithic house with elliptical plan in Hamezi, Crete.	Survey plan of a neolitic house with elliptical plan in Hamezi, Crete.
Representation of a prehistoric house in Thessaly. National Archeological Museum of Athens.	Representation of a prehistoric house in Thera, Cyclades, Greece.