Theodorus the Atheist
Encyclopedia
Theodorus the Atheist, of Cyrene
, was a philosopher of the Cyrenaic school. He lived in both Greece
and Alexandria
, before ending his days in his native city of Cyrene. As a Cyrenaic philosopher, he taught that the goal of life was to obtain joy and avoid grief, and that the former resulted from knowledge, and the latter from ignorance. But his principal claim to fame was his alleged atheism
. He was usually designated by ancient writers Atheus , the Atheist.
, grandson of the elder and more celebrated Aristippus
. He heard the lectures of a number of philosophers beside Aristippus; such as Anniceris
, and Dionysius
the dialectician, Zeno of Citium
, and Pyrrho
.
He was banished from Cyrene, but for what reason is not stated; and it is from the saying recorded of him on this occasion, "Men of Cyrene, you do ill in banishing me from Libya to Greece," as well as from his being a disciple of Aristippus, that we infer that he was a native of Cyrene. Of his subsequent history we have no connected account; but the anecdotes of him show that he was at Athens, where he narrowly escaped being cited before the Areopagus
court. The influence, however, of Demetrius Phalereus
shielded him; and this incident may therefore probably be placed during Demetrius' ten years of administration at Athens, 317-307 BC. As Theodorus was banished from Athens
, and was afterwards in the service of Ptolemy
in Egypt
, it is not unlikely that he shared the overthrow and exile of Demetrius. The account of Amphicrates
cited by Diogenes Laërtius
, that he was condemned to drink hemlock
and so died, is doubtless an error. While in the service of Ptolemy, Theodorus was sent on an embassy to Lysimachus
, whom he offended by the freedom of his remarks. One answer which he made to a threat of crucifixion
which Lysimachus had used, has been celebrated by many ancient writers (Cicero
, Seneca
, etc.): "Employ such threats to those courtiers of yours; for it matters not to Theodorus whether he rots on the ground or in the air." From the court or camp of Lysimachus he returned apparently to that of Ptolemy. We read also of his going to Corinth
with a number of his disciples: but this was perhaps only a transient visit during his residence at Athens. He returned at length to Cyrene, and lived there, says Diogenes Laërtius, with Magas
, the stepson of Ptolemy
, who ruled Cyrene for fifty years (c. 300-250 BC) as viceroy and then as king. Theodorus probably ended his days at Cyrene. Various characteristic anecdotes of Theodorus are preserved (Laërtius, Plutarch
, Valerius Maximus
, Philo
, etc.), from which he appears to have been a man of keen and ready wit.
disgraceful in theft, adultery, or sacrilege; if one ignored public opinion which had been formed by the consent of fools.
Theodorus was attacked for atheism
. "He did away with all opinions respecting the Gods," says Laërtius, but some critics doubt whether he was absolutely an atheist, or simply denied the existence of the deities of popular belief. The charge of atheism is sustained by the popular designation of Atheus, by the authority of Cicero
, Laërtius, Pseudo-Plutarch
, Sextus Empiricus
, and some Christian writers; while some others (e.g. Clement of Alexandria
) speak of him as only rejecting the popular theology.
Theodorus wrote a book On the gods , which Laërtius who had seen it, says was not to be dismissed; and he adds that it was said to have been the source of many of the statements or arguments of Epicurus
. According to the Suda
he wrote many works both on the doctrines of his sect and on other subjects.
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...
, was a philosopher of the Cyrenaic school. He lived in both Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, before ending his days in his native city of Cyrene. As a Cyrenaic philosopher, he taught that the goal of life was to obtain joy and avoid grief, and that the former resulted from knowledge, and the latter from ignorance. But his principal claim to fame was his alleged atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. He was usually designated by ancient writers Atheus , the Atheist.
Life
Theodorus was a disciple of the younger AristippusAristippus 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...
, grandson of the elder and more celebrated Aristippus
Aristippus
Aristippus of Cyrene, , 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...
. He heard the lectures of a number of philosophers beside Aristippus; such as Anniceris
Anniceris
Anniceris was a Cyrenaic philosopher. He argued that pleasure is achieved through individual acts of gratification which are sought for the pleasure that they produce, but he also laid great emphasis on the love of family, country, friendship and gratitude, which provide pleasure even when they...
, and Dionysius
Dionysius of Chalcedon
Dionysius of Chalcedon was a Greek philosopher and dialectician connected with the Megarian school. He was a native of Chalcedon on the coast of Bithynia...
the dialectician, Zeno of Citium
Zeno of Citium
Zeno of Citium was a Greek philosopher from Citium . Zeno was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC. Based on the moral ideas of the Cynics, Stoicism laid great emphasis on goodness and peace of mind gained from living a life of virtue in...
, and Pyrrho
Pyrrho
Pyrrho , a Greek philosopher of classical antiquity, is credited as being the first Skeptic philosopher and the inspiration for the school known as Pyrrhonism, founded by Aenesidemus in the 1st century BC.- Life :Pyrrho was from Elis, on the Ionian Sea...
.
He was banished from Cyrene, but for what reason is not stated; and it is from the saying recorded of him on this occasion, "Men of Cyrene, you do ill in banishing me from Libya to Greece," as well as from his being a disciple of Aristippus, that we infer that he was a native of Cyrene. Of his subsequent history we have no connected account; but the anecdotes of him show that he was at Athens, where he narrowly escaped being cited before the Areopagus
Areopagus
The Areopagus or Areios Pagos is the "Rock of Ares", north-west of the Acropolis, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases in Athens. Ares was supposed to have been tried here by the gods for the murder of Poseidon's son Alirrothios .The origin...
court. The influence, however, of Demetrius Phalereus
Demetrius Phalereus
Demetrius of Phalerum was an Athenian orator originally from Phalerum, a student of Theophrastus and one of the first Peripatetics...
shielded him; and this incident may therefore probably be placed during Demetrius' ten years of administration at Athens, 317-307 BC. As Theodorus was banished from Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, and was afterwards in the service of Ptolemy
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, it is not unlikely that he shared the overthrow and exile of Demetrius. The account of Amphicrates
Amphicrates
-Naval battle and other events, of bearing upon the king Amphicrates:Whilst king he did develop naval strength for an attack against Aegina, this having occurred about the year 670 B.C. Due to his tyranny, there was an uprising of slaves, these having moved to Mount Karvouni from here launching...
cited by Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes 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...
, that he was condemned to drink hemlock
Conium
Conium is a genus of two species of highly poisonous perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to Europe and the Mediterranean region as Conium maculatum, and to southern Africa as Conium chaerophylloides....
and so died, is doubtless an error. While in the service of Ptolemy, Theodorus was sent on an embassy to Lysimachus
Lysimachus
Lysimachus was a Macedonian officer and diadochus of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.-Early Life & Career:...
, whom he offended by the freedom of his remarks. One answer which he made to a threat of crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
which Lysimachus had used, has been celebrated by many ancient writers (Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, Seneca
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
, etc.): "Employ such threats to those courtiers of yours; for it matters not to Theodorus whether he rots on the ground or in the air." From the court or camp of Lysimachus he returned apparently to that of Ptolemy. We read also of his going to Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
with a number of his disciples: but this was perhaps only a transient visit during his residence at Athens. He returned at length to Cyrene, and lived there, says Diogenes Laërtius, with Magas
Magas of Cyrene
Magas of Cyrene was a Greek Macedonian nobleman. Through his mother’s second marriage he was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He became King of Cyrenaica and he managed to wrestle independence for Cyrenaica from the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt.-Family Background & Early Life:Magas...
, the stepson of Ptolemy
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
, who ruled Cyrene for fifty years (c. 300-250 BC) as viceroy and then as king. Theodorus probably ended his days at Cyrene. Various characteristic anecdotes of Theodorus are preserved (Laërtius, Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus was a Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes. He worked during the reign of Tiberius .-Biography:...
, Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
, etc.), from which he appears to have been a man of keen and ready wit.
Philosophy
Theodorus was the founder of a sect which was called after him Theodorei , "Theodoreans." The opinions of Theodorus, as we gather from the perplexed statement of Diogenes Laërtius, were of the Cyrenaic school. He taught that the great end of human life is to obtain joy and avoid grief, and that the former resulted from knowledge, and the latter from ignorance. He defined the good as prudence and justice, and the bad as the opposite. Pleasure and pain, however, were indifferent. He made light of friendship and patriotism, and asserted that the world was his country. He taught that there was nothing naturallyNatural law
Natural law, or the law of nature , is any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Natural law is contrasted with the positive law Natural...
disgraceful in theft, adultery, or sacrilege; if one ignored public opinion which had been formed by the consent of fools.
Theodorus was attacked for atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. "He did away with all opinions respecting the Gods," says Laërtius, but some critics doubt whether he was absolutely an atheist, or simply denied the existence of the deities of popular belief. The charge of atheism is sustained by the popular designation of Atheus, by the authority of Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, Laërtius, Pseudo-Plutarch
Pseudo-Plutarch
Pseudo-Plutarch is the conventional name given to the unknown authors of a number of pseudepigrapha attributed to Plutarch.Some of these works were included in some editions of Plutarch's Moralia...
, Sextus Empiricus
Sextus Empiricus
Sextus Empiricus , was a physician and philosopher, and has been variously reported to have lived in Alexandria, Rome, or Athens. His philosophical work is the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman skepticism....
, and some Christian writers; while some others (e.g. Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
) speak of him as only rejecting the popular theology.
Theodorus wrote a book On the gods , which Laërtius who had seen it, says was not to be dismissed; and he adds that it was said to have been the source of many of the statements or arguments of Epicurus
Epicurus
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism.Only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus's 300 written works...
. According to the Suda
Suda
The Suda or Souda is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often...
he wrote many works both on the doctrines of his sect and on other subjects.