In April 2021, Mark Cartwright published an article in World
History with a selection of twenty Greek philosophers. When I looked at the
dates, I was amazed to discover that most of these men lived roughly one
century before Alexander the
Great was born. This means that the young prince and later king was familiar with their works and teaching, which covered many
fields.
Most prominent
are Socrates (c.
469-399 BC), Plato (427
- 348/347 BC), and Aristotle
(384-322 BC), who are often mentioned in one breath as pre-Socratic philosophers. But there are many other great names like Pythagoras (c. 571 - c. 497
BC), who juggled with numbers, Democritus
(c. 460- c. 370 BC), who wisely stated that nothing comes from nothing, Epicurus (341-270 BC), who
focused on the pleasures of life, and the eccentric Diogenes (c. 404-323 BC), the hippy of
antiquity.
The knowledge of
these thinkers had a significant influence on the world of antiquity (including
Alexander) and still inspires us in modern times. Many of these philosophers never put any of
their philosophy down in writing; if they did, their own letters seldom
survived. In these cases, their teaching reached us through their pupils or
followers.
The philosophy
of Socrates (c. 469-399 BC) was recorded by one of his pupils, Plato. He, in turn, taught Aristotle (384-322 BC), who
became the tutor of young Alexander.
Thanks to Alexander’s
conquests, Greek knowledge and philosophy were spread throughout the ancient
world.
Another remarkable student of Socrates was Xenophon, a favorite author of Alexander, who recounted
how he led a large group of Greek mercenaries back to Greece. These soldiers had been hired by Cyrus,
who had died at the battle of Cunaxa
(near Babylon) in
September 401 BC (see: The Persian Expedition by Xenophon). The great merit
of Socrates was
that he inspired men to think for themselves – a relatively modern concept!
Sadly, this great mind was sentenced to death and forced to drink poison
after being accused of corrupting the youth of Athens.
Plato (427-348/347 BC) penned down his philosophical works, which would eventually
influence world culture. His thoughts greatly impacted the three monotheistic religions known: as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was
also the founder of the first university in the world named after him, Plato’s
Academy in Athens.
This happened after Socrates’
death and his own return from traveling to Egypt
and Italy.
Most of Plato’s
works discussed the ideas expressed by Socrates, rightfully so or not. The philosopher was
80 years old when he died. His Academy may have lived on for almost 1,000 years
until Emperor Justinian,
a zealous new Christian believer, closed it to suppress paganism.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a philosopher in his own right who made
considerable contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, ethics,
politics, agriculture, medicine, biology, and botany. He has already been
treated in previous blogs like Stagira, the Birthplace of Aristotle,
and Aristotle’s 2,400th birthday with an appropriate celebration.
Then there is Pythagoras (c. 571- c.
497 BC), best known for his famous Theorem stating that the square of the
hypotenuse of a right triangle equals the sum of the squares of the two other
sides. However, he was
also the first to concentrate on the transmigration of souls, or, in other words,
reincarnation. The details of Pythagoras’
life remain
obscure, but apparently, he traveled to Babylon and Egypt.
However, this Theorem may not have been his invention but copied from the
Babylonians. Also, the idea of reincarnation may have been transmitted to him
by the Egyptian priests. In antiquity, he
was considered a mystic and not the mathematician we remember nowadays. In
any case, he influenced the philosophy and thoughts of both Plato and Aristotle and many later
philosophers far into our modern way of thinking.
In turn, Democritus (c. 460-c.
370 BC) revolutionized the world as he claimed that the universe and everything
in it was made of tiny undividable building blocks, which we call atoms.
Although he may have written as many as 70 books, none of his work has
survived. He touched on various topics like human origins, ethics,
geography, astronomy, geometry, medicine, poetry, literature, and even farming.
Aristotle, later on,
cited parts of his works. Like Pythagoras,
Democritus is thought to have spent time in Egypt to study mathematics and in Babylon, where he sought the company of the priests. He seems to have voyaged around the
Mediterranean and further East to Persia
and India.
Next on the list
is Epicurus (341–270
BC), who taught that “Pleasure is the principle and end to a happy life.” The
modern adage may have been translated into “A laughter a day keeps the doctor
away.” Epicurus was strongly influenced by Plato, Aristotle, and Democritus. From 307 BC onward, he lived in Athens, where he
founded his school, The Garden. Here he welcomed both women and slaves, which
clearly was not to the liking of the Athenians. Putting pleasure as his highest
goal in life was often misunderstood. For Epicurus, pleasure should be seen as eating and
drinking in moderation and leading a life of restful contemplation. He needed to “not
spoil what you have desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have
was once among the things you only hoped for.” He died from kidney
stones at 71, but his school and philosophy would live long after
this death.
Last on this top
list is Diogenes
(c. 404-323 BC), who became famous for squatting in a barrel on the agora of Athens
and living as a beggar from the gifts of his admirers. He was a contemporary of Alexander and died in the
same year as the king. Legend has it that they met during Alexander’s visit to Corinth (see:
Alexander meeting
Diogenes in Corinth). This philosopher
believed it was necessary to reject all that was unnecessary in life, not only
one’s personal possessions but also one’s social status. The first part of this
philosophy was widely accepted by Alexander, who did not care much for personal
possessions! What must have
shocked Diogenes' contemporaries is
that he was very straightforward in his conversations and didn’t care for the
rules of etiquette and good manners. Although Diogenes wished that his dead body would be
thrown to the dogs, and despite his critics, he was buried with honor.
There are, of
course, many other great names such as Thales of Miletus (625-547 BC), one of the Seven
Sages of ancient Greece (see: Miletus, more than a city), Parmenides, founder of the
Eleatic School at the beginning of the 5th century (see: Magna Graecia, the forgotten Greek legacy) that was attended by Zeno of Elea (5th century BC) and Melissus of Samos (5th
century BC) – maybe even by Xenophanes of Colophon (570-c. 478 BC) but that is not proven.
Also listed in Mark Cartwright’s article are:
Anaximander of Miletus (c. 610-c. 545 BC), a friend of Thales wrote about astronomy as he apparently
was the first to use the gnomon to determine solstices, time, seasons, and
equinoxes. He also published a work on geography with the first map of the
inhabited world (see: Miletus, more than a city).
Anaximenes of Miletus was a younger contemporary and pupil of Anaximander. His theory was that the prime
substance was pneuma,
i.e., breath or air world (see: Miletus, more than a city)
According to Plato, Antisthenes of Athens (c. 445-365 BC) was a follower of Socrates and may have witnessed his death. He
was the founder of the Cynic
School and wrote on
subjects like physics, literature, and logic.
Aristippus of Cyrene (c.
435-356 BC) founded the Cyrenaic School of Philosophy. He believed that pleasure and pursuing pleasure was the highest goal in life. That sounds
rather odd coming from a pupil of Socrates. He died the year Alexander
was born.
Heraclitus of Ephesus, an early Pre-Socratic philosopher who sought to identify the
creation of the world (see: Sailing the Wine-Dark
Sea. Why the Greeks
Matter by Thomas Cahill)
Protagoras of Abdera (c. 485-415 BC) also stood out. After all, he was the first
philosopher to promote subjectivity because everything was relative to
individual interpretation. In simple words, man is the measure of all things.
He was the greatest among the Sophists, i.e., rhetoric, politics,
and logic teachers who made a living as private tutors to the youth of the upper
classes, especially in Athens. He taught them how to speak well – hence, our word sophisticated. Unlike Socrates, he was accused of
impiety, which, in ancient Greece, meant he was executed. At age 71, Protagoras decided to flee from Athens
before he was put on trial. Sadly, he drowned before he reached Sicily.
Zeno of Citium on the island
of Cyprus (336-265 BC).
He was born in the year Alexander
became king. By chance, he was exposed to the teachings of Socrates through
the book, Memorabilia, written by Xenophon. Zeno’s study
eventually led him to become a teacher himself as he founded a school on
the porches (the Stoa) of Athens’
Agora. That’s how his school got its name, Stoic. Stoicism would become one of
the most influential philosophies in the Roman world.
All in all, this is a substantial baggage the young King of Macedonia took with him to the East!
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