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 STOIC PHILOSOPHY OF THE METALEXANDRIAN AGE

With the creation of the huge empire of Alexander the Great, many things changed in the political, social, psychological and philosophical life of the ancient Greeks. The small city-states of Greece ceased to exist. In those cities, citizens were accustomed to holding certain important roles for the political life of their place. Suddenly becoming citizens of a vast empire, their concerns and moods changed. At this critical juncture, the new philosophy came to play an important role in the spiritual support of individuals.

The Stoic philosophy, which was developed during the Hellenistic times and evolved until the end of the Roman times is divided into ancient, middle and new Stoa. The founder of the ancient Stoa was Zeno (333-262 BC), who was known for his simplicity and ethos. In contrast to the dualism between Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy, Zeno turned to the archaic philosophy of Heraclitus. He believed that every real being, even the soul or God, is considered bodily. He also believed that matter is in constant change but the fixed base of the spirit ensures the unity of the world. In his opinion, this unity makes all beings related and this is the sympathy of everything that leads to world harmony. He also advocated that the universe was created on the basis of a certain design by a creative mind and that everything that happens in it has a purpose.

Passions, such as desire, pleasure, fear and sorrow, were attributed by Zeno to a wrong judgment. Also, according to the philosopher, scientific knowledge is necessary in order for the moral act to take place. Zeno divided people into sages and fools, considering as sages those free from passions and like God.

The most systematic of the philosophers of the ancient Stoa, however, was Chrysippus (280-210 BC). He taught that the universe ignites from time to time to become again from the beginning and in fact the same as before. He also considered the soul to be a fiery substance that is born in the blood and dies with the body. He believed that the senses, sexual ability, language and logic are parts of the soul. Finally, he stressed that the human will is free and allows the ego, after thought, to take responsibility for its actions.

An important representative of the middle Stoa was Panaitios (185 - 109 BC). He justified human passions and recognized logic as the regulator of spiritual balance. He also emphasized that the will of man cannot be changed even by God.

Panaitos considered that the superiority of man is due to his logic and distinguished in him four spiritual impulses: for knowledge, for social coexistence, for the conquest of goods and for peace of soul. According to the philosopher, wisdom, justice, bravery and self-control develop from these impulses.

Poseidonios (135-51 BC) also belonged to the Middle Stoa. In his conceptions coexisted Greek and Eastern wisdom, mysticism with rationalism, belief in both miracles and causation, theoretical and empirical thinking, personal observation and historical tradition. As a carrier of life in the organic world he considered heat, a fiery breath that is identified with speech. He also believed that the world was a huge living organism with a soul of reason. Poseidonios considered the human soul to be fiery and argued that harmony and beauty arise from the opposites of the world.

Poseidonios believed that logic distinguished man from animals and that this was the driving force behind the evolution of civilization and not necessity. From a moral point of view, the philosopher advocated that man ought in thought and action to follow his logic because only in this way can he live a life in accordance with his nature. Finally, he believed that for human happiness, in addition  to virtue, there must also be health, strength and other goods.

The representatives of the new Stoa belong to the first two Christian centuries. Their views approach Platonism, advocate man's relationship with God, and emphasize love for fellow human beings. A well known representative of the new Stoa was the slave Epictetus (50-135 AD). He believed that within man there is a space that is inaccessible to material power and to the temptation of external goods. He also believed that being indifferent to things which he can not control, someone can get rid of passions. An admirer of the Epictetus was Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD), who wrote that knowing that everything changes, one can not desire anything and be afraid of anything outside, submitting to the natural course of the world and thus cultivating his inner freedom, which is in accordance with his rational nature.