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.
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.
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.
