Posidonius

Philosopher, Mathematician, Physicist, Astronomer, Meteorologist, Statesman, Historian, Geographer (c135 BC – c51 BC)

Posidonius was born in Syria and flourished in Rhodes. He was an exceptional scientist whose work spanned numerous different fields. Poseidonius is widely considered by modern scholars to be equal to Aristotle in terms of knowledge and wisdom. He holds the title of possible inventor of the Antikythera Mechanism together with Hipparchus and Archimedes. He had profound influence on the Romans thanks to his spiritual glory.

As a philosopher, Posidonius reintroduced the religious element in Stoic philosophy. According to him, man’s soul derives from God; it is therefore immortal and has a divine essence to it. The soul descended to Earth from the sky as a result of sin and became entrapped inside a prison: the mortal human body. During life, the soul continuously tries to ascend back to the sky and reach God whilst overcoming earthly temptations. To achieve this, man must live a life of virtues; it is only by means of virtue that the soul can come closer to its creator. Not all souls, however, are capable of this ascension. This task can only be undertaken by those willing to live a life free of bodily desires and materialistic desires. For it is only those who strive to preserve the divine part of their nature by keeping it uncontaminated who will earn a rightful place in the heavens. The reunion of man’s soul with God will be achieved only by those who accomplish this feat.

God does not have a form; instead, he takes the form of all. All life and all souls derive from God. Everything that comprises the three hierarchies: plants, animals and humans, including their interrelationships are characterized by order set by God’s wisdom. Posidonius also spoke about two worlds co-existing: the earthly world, which is mortal and the heavenly world, which is immortal. The link between the two worlds is man, who participates in both the earthly and the heavenly world by his body and soul respectively. In his book On Heroes and Daemons Posidonius writes that except man, there are other beings that inhabit these worlds and possess nous (intellect). These beings are found everywhere and possess different abilities. He described these aerial beings as Daemons and Heroes. Posidonius communicated with these beings.

Posidonius was not only a philosopher. He was a gifted polymath. As a scientist he was the first to describe the tidal phenomena caused by the moon’s influence on the sea. During the Renaissance Paolo Toscanelli studied Poseidonius’ writings according to which one could travel to the Indies if one set sail from the west and having constantly an east wind. Toscanelli compiled maps according to this, which Cristopher Colombus would later use to reach America.

Posidonius’ works in meteorology contain several interesting studies such as the effects on climate on the proprioception of humans, explanations involving the clouds, winds, rain, frost, lightning etc. He wrote hundreds of books; just his historical and geographical work altogether comprises of 52 books. In astronomy Poseidonius successfully calculated the Earth’s circumference using the star of Canopus as reference point while in mathematics he advanced the Euclidean geometry and proposed several terms and definitions.

The philosophy of Posidonius was one of the last contributions of Ancient Greece to philosophy. According to N.I. Luvaris: ”He was a sage, a thinker, a researcher… He was something more than a scientist. He was a prophet, who showed man’s place in this world and defined his true destination…”. His philosophy had an immense influence on the Roman civilization as numerous Roman nobles became his students, most notably Cicero.

Bibliography

1. Koutoulas, Diamantis. The Ancient Greek Religion and the Mathematics. Thessaloniki: Psaras, 2001. Print.
2. Pleuris, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron, 2013. Print
3. Pleuris Konstantinos. Diogmos ton Ariston. Athens: Hilektron, 2013. Print
4. “Poseidonius”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens: 1946. Print