Aristippus
Encyclopedia
Aristippus of Cyrene
, (c. 435-c. 356 BCE), was the founder of the Cyrenaic school
of Philosophy. He was a pupil of Socrates
, but adopted a very different philosophical outlook, teaching that the goal of life was to seek pleasure by adapting circumstances to oneself and by maintaining proper control over both adversity and prosperity. Among his pupils was his daughter Arete
.
, c. 435 BCE. He came over to Greece
to be present at the Olympic games, where he fell in with Ischomachus the agriculturist, and by his description was filled with so ardent a desire to see Socrates
, that he went to Athens for the purpose, and remained with him almost up to the time of his execution, 399 BCE. Diodorus
dates him to 366 BCE, which agrees very well with the facts known about him, and with the statement, that Lais
, the courtesan with whom he was intimate, was born 421 BCE.
Though a disciple of Socrates, he wandered very far both in principle and practice from the teaching and example of his great master. He lived luxuriously; he was happy to seek sensual gratification, and the company of the notorious Lais; he took money for his teaching, and told Socrates that he resided in a foreign land in order to escape the trouble of involving himself in the politics of his native city. He passed part of his life at the court of Dionysius I of Syracuse
or Dionysius the Younger, and is also said to have been taken prisoner by Artaphernes
, the satrap who drove the Sparta
ns from Rhodes
, 396 BCE. He appears, however, at last to have returned to Cyrene, and there he spent his old age.
In Book VI of De architectura
, Vitruvius
describes Aristippus:
, by no means give us the notion of a person who was the mere slave of his passions, but rather of one who took a pride in extracting enjoyment from all circumstances of every kind, and in controlling adversity and prosperity alike. They illustrate and confirm the two statements of Horace
, that to observe the precepts of Aristippus is "to endeavour to adapt circumstances to myself, not myself to circumstances" and that, "every complexion of life, every station and circumstance sat gracefully upon him." Thus when reproached for his love of bodily indulgences, he answered, that "it is not abstinence from pleasures that is best, but mastery over them without ever being worsted." When Dionysius, provoked at some of his remarks, ordered him to take the lowest place at table, he said, "You wish to dignify the seat."
Whether he was prisoner to a satrap, or grossly insulted and even spit upon by a tyrant, or enjoying the pleasures of a banquet, or reviled for faithlessness to Socrates by his fellow-pupils, he maintained the same calm temper. He seemed insulting to Xenophon
and Plato
, as seen from the Memorabilia
, where he maintains a discussion against Socrates in defence of voluptuous enjoyment, and from the Phaedo
, where his absence at the death of Socrates, though he was only at Aegina
, 200 stadia
from Athens, is doubtless mentioned as a reproach. Aristotle, too, calls him a sophist, and notices a story of Plato speaking to him, with rather undue vehemence, and of his replying with calmness.
He imparted his doctrine to his daughter Arete
, by whom it was communicated to her son, Aristippus the Younger
, and by him it was said to have been reduced to a system. Diogenes Laërtius, on the authority of Sotion
and Panaetius
, gives a long list of books whose authorship is ascribed to Aristippus, though he also says that Sosicrates
of Rhodes states that he wrote nothing. Some letters attributed to him are forgeries.
and courtesans
. Thus the author supports his claims for Plato
's various erotic relationships through his quotation of epigrams attributed to the philosopher; and makes an extreme allegation that Periander
committed incest with his own mother. That this work cannot have been written by Aristippus of Cyrene has long been realised, not least because the author mentions Theophrastus
who lived a generation after Aristippus. but the name may have been adopted by the writer to suggest a connection with the hedonistic philosopher.
Cyrene, Libya
Cyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
, (c. 435-c. 356 BCE), was the founder of the Cyrenaic school
Cyrenaics
The Cyrenaics were an ultra-hedonist Greek school of philosophy founded in the 4th century BC, supposedly by Aristippus of Cyrene, although many of the principles of the school are believed to have been formalized by his grandson of the same name, Aristippus the Younger. The school was so called...
of Philosophy. He was a pupil of Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
, but adopted a very different philosophical outlook, teaching that the goal of life was to seek pleasure by adapting circumstances to oneself and by maintaining proper control over both adversity and prosperity. Among his pupils was his daughter Arete
Arete of Cyrene
Arete of Cyrene was a Cyrenaic philosopher, and the daughter of Aristippus of Cyrene.She learned philosophy from her father, Aristippus, who had himself learned philosophy from Socrates. Arete, in turn, taught philosophy to her son - Aristippus the Younger - hence her son was nicknamed...
.
Life
Aristippus, the son of Aritades, was born at CyreneCyrene, Libya
Cyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
, c. 435 BCE. He came over to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
to be present at the Olympic games, where he fell in with Ischomachus the agriculturist, and by his description was filled with so ardent a desire to see Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
, that he went to Athens for the purpose, and remained with him almost up to the time of his execution, 399 BCE. Diodorus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
dates him to 366 BCE, which agrees very well with the facts known about him, and with the statement, that Lais
Lais of Corinth
Lais of Corinth was a famous hetaera or courtesan of ancient Greece who was probably born in Corinth. Another hetaera with the same name was Lais of Hyccara. Since ancient authors in their -usually indirect- accounts often confuse them or do not indicate which they refer to, the two are...
, the courtesan with whom he was intimate, was born 421 BCE.
Though a disciple of Socrates, he wandered very far both in principle and practice from the teaching and example of his great master. He lived luxuriously; he was happy to seek sensual gratification, and the company of the notorious Lais; he took money for his teaching, and told Socrates that he resided in a foreign land in order to escape the trouble of involving himself in the politics of his native city. He passed part of his life at the court of Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in what is now Sicily, southern Italy. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Greek colonies...
or Dionysius the Younger, and is also said to have been taken prisoner by Artaphernes
Artaphernes
Artaphernes , was the brother of the king of Persia, Darius I of Persia, and satrap of Sardis.In 497 BC, Artaphernes received an embassy from Athens, probably sent by Cleisthenes, and subsequently advised the Athenians that they should receive back the tyrant Hippias.Subsequently he took an...
, the satrap who drove the Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
ns from Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
, 396 BCE. He appears, however, at last to have returned to Cyrene, and there he spent his old age.
In Book VI of De architectura
De architectura
' is a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect Vitruvius and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide for building projects...
, Vitruvius
Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....
describes Aristippus:
It is related of the Socratic philosopher Aristippus that, being shipwrecked and cast ashore on the coast of the Rhodians, he observed geometrical figures drawn thereon, and cried out to his companions: "Let us be of good cheer, for I see the traces of man." With that he made for the city of Rhodes, and went straight to the gymnasiumGymnasium (ancient Greece)The gymnasium in ancient Greece functioned as a training facility for competitors in public games. It was also a place for socializing and engaging in intellectual pursuits. The name comes from the Ancient Greek term gymnós meaning "naked". Athletes competed in the nude, a practice said to...
. There he fell to discussing philosophical subjects, and presents were bestowed upon him, so that he could not only fit himself out, but could also provide those who accompanied him with clothing and all other necessaries of life. When his companions wished to return to their country, and asked him what message he wished them to carry home, he bade them say this: that children ought to be provided with property and resources of a kind that could swim with them even out of a shipwreck.
Philosophy
The anecdotes which are told of him, and of which there are lots in Diogenes LaërtiusDiogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laertius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is known about his life, but his surviving Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is one of the principal surviving sources for the history of Greek philosophy.-Life:Nothing is definitively known about his life...
, by no means give us the notion of a person who was the mere slave of his passions, but rather of one who took a pride in extracting enjoyment from all circumstances of every kind, and in controlling adversity and prosperity alike. They illustrate and confirm the two statements of Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
, that to observe the precepts of Aristippus is "to endeavour to adapt circumstances to myself, not myself to circumstances" and that, "every complexion of life, every station and circumstance sat gracefully upon him." Thus when reproached for his love of bodily indulgences, he answered, that "it is not abstinence from pleasures that is best, but mastery over them without ever being worsted." When Dionysius, provoked at some of his remarks, ordered him to take the lowest place at table, he said, "You wish to dignify the seat."
Whether he was prisoner to a satrap, or grossly insulted and even spit upon by a tyrant, or enjoying the pleasures of a banquet, or reviled for faithlessness to Socrates by his fellow-pupils, he maintained the same calm temper. He seemed insulting to Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
and Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, as seen from the Memorabilia
Memorabilia (Xenophon)
Memorabilia is a collection of Socratic dialogues by Xenophon, a student of Socrates...
, where he maintains a discussion against Socrates in defence of voluptuous enjoyment, and from the Phaedo
Phaedo
Plato's Phaedo is one of the great dialogues of his middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium. The Phaedo, which depicts the death of Socrates, is also Plato's seventh and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days .In the dialogue, Socrates...
, where his absence at the death of Socrates, though he was only at Aegina
Aegina
Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...
, 200 stadia
Stadia
Stadium or stadion has the plural stadia in both Latin and Greek. The anglicized term is stade in the singular.Stadium may refer to:* Stadium, a building type...
from Athens, is doubtless mentioned as a reproach. Aristotle, too, calls him a sophist, and notices a story of Plato speaking to him, with rather undue vehemence, and of his replying with calmness.
He imparted his doctrine to his daughter Arete
Arete of Cyrene
Arete of Cyrene was a Cyrenaic philosopher, and the daughter of Aristippus of Cyrene.She learned philosophy from her father, Aristippus, who had himself learned philosophy from Socrates. Arete, in turn, taught philosophy to her son - Aristippus the Younger - hence her son was nicknamed...
, by whom it was communicated to her son, Aristippus the Younger
Aristippus the Younger
Aristippus the Younger, of Cyrene, was the grandson of Aristippus of Cyrene, and is widely believed to have formalized the principles of Cyrenaic philosophy.He lived in the second half of the 4th century BC...
, and by him it was said to have been reduced to a system. Diogenes Laërtius, on the authority of Sotion
Sotion
Sotion of Alexandria was a Greek doxographer and biographer, and an important source for Diogenes Laërtius. None of his works survive; they are known only indirectly...
and Panaetius
Panaetius
Panaetius of Rhodes was a Stoic philosopher. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus in Athens, before moving to Rome where he did much to introduce Stoic doctrines to the city. After the death of Scipio in 129, he returned to the Stoic school in Athens, and was its last...
, gives a long list of books whose authorship is ascribed to Aristippus, though he also says that Sosicrates
Sosicrates
Sosicrates of Rhodes was a Greek historical writer. Sosicrates was born on the island Rhodes and is noted, chiefly, for his frequent mention by Diogenes Laërtius in his Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers — referencing Sosicrates as the sole authority behind such facts as Aristippus having...
of Rhodes states that he wrote nothing. Some letters attributed to him are forgeries.
On Ancient Luxury
One work attributed to "Aristippus" in ancient times was a scandalous work entitled On Ancient Luxury (or On the Luxury of the Ancients ). This work, judging by the quotations preserved by Diogenes Laërtius, was filled with spicy anecdotes about philosophers and their supposed taste for boy-loversPederasty in ancient Greece
Pederasty in ancient Greece was a socially acknowledged relationship between an adult and a younger male usually in his teens. It was characteristic of the Archaic and Classical periods...
and courtesans
Hetaera
In ancient Greece, hetaerae were courtesans, that is to say, highly educated, sophisticated companions...
. Thus the author supports his claims for Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's various erotic relationships through his quotation of epigrams attributed to the philosopher; and makes an extreme allegation that Periander
Periander
Periander was the second tyrant of Corinth, Greece in the 7th century BC. He was the son of the first tyrant, Cypselus. Periander succeeded his father in 627 BC. He died in 585 BC....
committed incest with his own mother. That this work cannot have been written by Aristippus of Cyrene has long been realised, not least because the author mentions Theophrastus
Theophrastus
Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
who lived a generation after Aristippus. but the name may have been adopted by the writer to suggest a connection with the hedonistic philosopher.