Socrates

Philosopher (470 BC – 399 BC)

Greece is renowned for having given birth to heroes and sages. Socrates was both of them together. Socrates is considered as a landmark in philosophy. Modern history has divided philosophy into pre and post Socratic. Socratic philosophy, and in a broader sense philosophy, has the essence of practising virtue. Through the practice of virtue comes the cleansing of the soul, which is followed by its perfection.

Socrates’ philosophy, unlike most other philosophers at his time, was not based on the surroundings but was centred on man. His philosophy aimed at making man virtuous and to live a good and happy life. For this to be achieved, one should not act contrary to his beliefs. Socrates taught that knowledge came from within, not from the outside world. Through knowing oneself one would live a life with virtues. Socrates did not teach what things were right and wrong to do and did not aim to correct people’s mistakes. Instead, through logic he was able to persuade people to direct their behaviour towards what was best for their spiritual development. His method, which came to be known as the Socratic Method, was the following: He would hide the fact that he knew under a cloak of ignorance and pretend that he did not know. Then, he would discuss with his interlocutor and through questions he would eventually reach the opposite definition which the interlocutor had originally put, thus proving them that their argument was wrong. He rejected democracy because quantity did not determine quality. People were obliged to conform to the opinions of people who knew and not to the opinion of the many. Socrates considered absurd people who did not know, to do something that they did not know, nevertheless to have an opinion about it.

Socrates practised meditation. Plato saves a very important excerpt in his Symposium with Alcibiades narrating about what he witnessed during the battle of Poitidaia. Socrates meditated standing from one sunrise until the next without moving. His fellow soldiers watched with complete awe and respect as the philosopher made contact with the Divine Beings of Light right at the time when the sun’s rays reached the horizon during the sunrise. As his spirit left his body from Earth, Socrates made an aetheric flight around our world. What he saw is described in detail in Plato’s works Phaedon and Symposium. Socrates described Earth’s view from space in much the same way as our astronauts recently did. He described it as being spherical and divided into 12 pieces of skin, covered with different colours. They are the 12 meridians, from which different electromagnetic waves are emitted and give these colours. Moreover, he described how the Earth contains multiple colours, colours that are visible by airplane passengers above the clouds, the white colour of the poles, the blue colour of the seas etc. He was the first to mention the concept of gravity. Socrates also witnessed the Divine Aetheric Fields, a world that is outside of our visual field and is home to higher spiritual entities. This could be a possible explanation for the enigmatic daemon of Socrates. During the next dawn, he returned to Earth. With his journey, he created the bridge that linked humanity with the Divine Beings of Light. He was just 40 years old at the time.

Socrates stood as an example of the person he intended to make others. Unfortunately, the same people he was serving turned against him and ultimately resulted to his unjust trial. He was not afraid of death. He believed that is was impossible to be afraid of something that you do not experience or you do not know because it could be something good. According to him, death is nothing more than the separation of the immortal soul from the mortal body, and the passage of the soul to a higher plane. Those who are afraid of death do not know what death is. He taught his students even at the final moments before his death. Socrates faced death as a reality and defeated it. Soon after his death, the Athenians repented for his death and assigned Lysippus to construct a bronze statue of him, which was to be placed at the courtroom. Socrates’ accusers did not have a good end. Melitus was sentenced to death by the Athenians as killed by stoning. Anytus was exiled to Herakleia where he was also stoned to death. Lycon was exiled as well.

Today, Socrates is remembered as one of the founding fathers of philosophy worldwide. His life and work has been compared to that of Jesus Christ, having taught his philosophy around several parts of the city without founding a new school. In contrast to popular belief, Socrates wrote numerous books, which unfortunately have not survived while Jesus did not. Socrates had his students who, after his own death, founded many schools and allowed philosophy to flourish. Unlike Jesus, however, none of Socrates’ students ever betrayed him or abandoned him. Instead, they risked their lives to rescue him from his death sentence. Socrates’ students remained loyal to him until the end, proving their spiritual superiority over Jesus’ students, who did not stand by him during his death, nevertheless help him carry the cross during his crucifixion. Peter, for example swore never having met Jesus when he was asked by the Romans. Jesus promised his students Paradise and an eternal life should they follow him. Socrates never promised his students anything except for their own spiritual and ethical development. In the end, Jesus asked God on his cross why did he abandon him. Socrates never expressed sorrow and greeted death without bitterness. Through his actions, Socrates became a symbol to humanity. He holds the torch of immortality for those who wish to follow him to the Aetheric Fields and be united with the Divine Beings.

Bibliography

1. Altani. Arritoi Logoi: Hellenikos Dia-logismos. Athens: Georgiades, 2012. Print.
2. Kraut, Richard. ”Socrates”. Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Web. 1 Nov. 2016.
3. Pleuris, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron, 2012. Print.
4. Pleuris, Konstantinos. Socrates Before Death. Athens: Hilektron, 2013. Print.

Epictetus

Philosopher (50 – 120)

Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher who struggled throughout his life, living homeless, with no family and having spent most of his lifetime as a slave. When he gained his freedom, he devoted his life in teaching philosophy.

Epictetus’ philosophy was quite different from the others. It was centred on life itself rather than with nature of the human being. His philosophy aimed to help common people cope with the struggles of everyday life and how to confront losses, disappointments and sorrows. According to him, we must behave in such a way that we maintain our spiritual ataraxia, a term meaning a state free of distress and filled with tranquillity. To reach this state, however, we must free ourselves from the satisfaction of our desires and from our passions. Epictetus praises family and friendship but does not accept attachments to them or to any other things since if someone is detached from them, he will be devastated by their loss.

Epictetus believed that a happy life is a life with virtues and that every person was created for a higher, special purpose. A life built with ethical values would help people become the masters of their desires, carry out their duties and learn to think clearly about oneself and about their relationship with the greater human society. Indeed, Epictetus believed very much about his philosophy being applied in everyday life. For this reason, he did not introduce any metaphysical or intricate laws in his teachings.

Epictetus didn’t leave any written form of his philosophy. Nevertheless, Arrianus, one of his brightest students wrote two books based on his teachings’ Diatribes and Enchiridion, the later being studied till this day worldwide. In the end, Epictetus did not intend to found a new Philosophical School, rather to help people liberate themselves from their passions, to endure their sufferings and to heal them. Epictetus was in the same position when he was a slave, but his remarkable endurance and his perspective on life was what made the Romans free him and let him teach them. The slave had defeated the conqueror.

Bibliography

1. Pleuris, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron, 2013. Print.
2. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica. ”Epictetus” Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Miltiades

General (554 BC – 489 BC)

The Greek general Miltiades was born in the city of Athens in the year 554 BC. After serving ruler of Thrace he was elected in Athens as one of the 10 generals of the city. Athenians described him as the bravest, most capable tactician and general of them all.

His time to prove it would come a year later, in 490 BC when, following the Ionian Revolt, the Persian army led by King Darius destroyed the city of Eretria and moved towards the city of Athens in hope of conquering the Greeks and seizing control of the west in its entirety. The Persians would cross the bay of Euboea and approach Athens by land through Marathon. Miltiades, who foresaw this as an opportunity to defeat the Persians, persuaded the people and the generals to vote in favor of a battle which would decide the fate of the world. Miltiades narrowly succeeded in persuading general Callimachos into voting in favor and so the decision was made. On September of 490, the 63-year-old Miltiades would lead the Athenians into battle against the vast Persian army.

It is estimated that the Greek army composed of 10.000 Athenians and 1.000 Plataeans while the Persian army is still unknown, estimated roughly by historians to around 300.000 to 600.000 men. When the battle began, Herodotus described it as the most prominent battle of all time. Despite their being outnumbered, the Greeks demolished the Persian army strategically through planning their target of attack and movement, completely attributed to Miltiades. According to historians, Miltiades was the first to use psychological war methods to his soldiers and the enemy as well as the whispering campaign to his soldiers in order to boost their ethics and degrade the ethos of their enemy. Knowing of the weak mentality of his soldiers because of the Spartans’ refusal to help, Miltiades did so by appealing to his soldier’s ideals, such as democracy (even if he himself was against it) and spreading rumors of a divine omen, respectively. Having empowered his men, Miltiades acknowledged the strategic position of their enemy and took advantage of it as no general had did before. The Persians had unknowingly chosen the worst possible place to form an army because they were surrounded by obstacles, having a swamp in front and the sea behind them. Therefore, they would either perish from the front by the Greeks or drown in the sea. This meant there was no capability of retreating. By forming the army in a shape of pliers together with the Plataeans, the Greeks were able to defeat the Persians in a most decisive battle.

Immediately after the Battle of Marathon, the rest of the Persian ships sailed from Sounion to Phaliron for one final blow. In spite of their victory, Miltiades rushed to Athens with the Plataeans to defend the city. As soon as the Persians reached the port, all hope was lost seeing Miltiades again. The attack was called off and the Persian fled in shame. The Athenians counted 192 casualties, the Platnaeans 11 and the Persians 6400 people, 7 ships, and all of their cavalry and belongings.

The outcome of the Battle of Marathon is largely attributed to Miltiades whose tactics and strategic knowledge on the battlefield  prevented the enemy from slaying Greece. His strategic maneuvers would later be imitated throughout history in decisive battles by Hannibal in the Battle of Cannae, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher in Waterloo, Helmuth von Moltke in the Battle of Sedan, Paul von Hindenburg in the Battle of the Masurian Lakes, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Invasion of Normandy, among others.

The greatest triumph of Miltiades was proving for the first time that the Persian Empire could be beaten and that resistance was not only possible but necessary. Miltiades’ victory in the Battle of Marathon marked a defining point in world history: had the battle been lost, the Persians would have conquered Greece and the world entire. Greek thought would seize to exist and therefore western civilization would have never existed.

Bibliography:

1. ”Miltiades”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.
2. Volonakis, Ioannis. Ancient Greece’s Greatest Leaders.  Athens: Georgiades, 1997. Print.

Anaxagoras

Philosopher, Mathematician, Physicist, Astronomer (c.510 BC – 428 BC)

Anaxagoras was a philosopher from Clazomenae, who lived and taught most of his life in Athens. A Pre-Socratic philosopher, who from a young age expressed an inclination toward science, he is regarded as one of the most important thinkers of his era, not solely for his philosophical views, most notably about nous (intellect), but also for his astronomical knowledge.

Anaxagoras wrote only one book, Περὶ Φύσεως (Peri Physeos) “On Nature”. It is said that it was so popular that one could buy it from the agora of Athens with 1 drachma. In it, Anaxagoras investigates the origin of the Cosmos, as well as the creation of Earth. In the very first sentence of his book, he asserts that the world was created as a result of union of pre-existing elements. That is, all things were together. His belief that everything that exists is composed of a mixture of all ingredients that there are came to be known as the “Everything-in-Everything principle”. Every ingredient is everywhere at all times and never ceases to exist. The simplest example is that of food. Anaxagoras claims that food and water are not simply that which we perceive in our reality, but they are composed of every ingredient that the body is made of, since the body is a mixture of all ingredients that are. By this way, Anaxagoras makes an analogy between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The interpretation of this theory has long troubled philosophers, both ancient and modern.

One of Anaxagoras’ key features in his philosophy was nous. Nous, which is the only thing that does not obey the principle of Everything-in-Everything, is responsible for setting into motion the ingredients that constitute the world and thus putting it in order. Nous can be roughly interpreted as mind or intellect and pictured as a mixer that constantly rotates the ingredients that form the world around a whirlpool.

Apart from philosophy, Anaxagoras was interested in physics and astronomy. He was the first to define the way by which eclipses of the sun and the moon occur as well as how winds are formed. Indeed, Aristotle marks how Anaxagoras could prove this experimentally. One of his most stunning assertions was the fact that distinguished him from the so-called Atomists. Anaxagoras believed that the atom could be divided as “matter can be divided into infinite” and can never be fully divided. This is exactly what modern science has shown, since the atom is composed of numerous other particles such as electrons and the nucleus, which in turn can be further divided into neutrons, positrons, protons, mesons etc.

Anaxagoras had many philosophical principles, including the most puzzling of all that there exist other, parallel worlds. His ideas influenced a number of prominent philosophers ranging from Aristotle to George Gamov.

Bibliography

1. “Anaxagoras”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Kemiktsi Helene. Αναξαγόρας – http:www.projethomere.com. YouTube. July 17, 2012. Web. October 27, 2015.
3. Pleuris, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Hilektron Publications, Athens, 2013. Print.

Archytas

Philosopher, Mathematician, Physicist, Engineer, Inventor, Astronomer, Statesman, Strategist, Musician (428 BC – 347 BC)

Archytas was a Pythagorean philosopher and polymath, one of the brightest minds ever to pass from Greek history. He built and flew the first flying machine in recorded history.

His contributions are numerous and expand in many different fields. As a Pythagorean philosopher, he expressed innovative ideas concerning learning and education. He believed that learning derived from the methodology of transmitting knowledge to others and by means of creative discovery. Among his most notable students was Eudoxus of Cnidus and Plato, who later became one of his closest friends. He was head of the Pythagorean school of philosophy in Tarentum.

As a general, Archytas was elected 7 times consecutively, even though re-elections were prohibited and was never defeated in battle. This comes to show how skilful he was in politics and how he could apply his philosophical thinking in the governing of a city-state. Indeed, he was a very close friend of Plato, having rescued him when he was on a journey to Syracuse. It is believed that the idealized Philosopher-King whom Plato is referring to in the Republic is Archytas, or at least, a ruler with Archytas’ virtues.

As member of the Pythagorean brotherhood, Archytas was one of the most special philosophers of his times, considering the fact that only the most virtuous men and women were handed down the Pythagorean teachings. Archytas has the following prerequisites for someone to become wise. First, they must have been born with a spirit gifted with the capacities of understanding, memory and work. Second, they must have exercised their intelligence from a young age with mathematics. Third, they must meditate (Διαλογισμός) to reach the divine knowledge of the universal laws of nature and humanity. This undertaking requires the soul to be brave, persistent, prudent, mnemonic and to research everything.

Since at that time Music was considered as a branch of Mathematics, Archytas made numerous innovations in the field. As a Harmonic Theorist, he discovered that the fundamental intervals of music could be illustrated as ratios on a string length. According to Plato, he made enormous contributions to music, most than any other Pythagorean, to an extent where he took music as a science to a whole new level.

Archytas’ major contributions to humanity were in the field of mathematics. He solved the Delian Problem, the so-called Doubling of the Cube and founded Mechanics as a science in Physics. Many of his discoveries were later included in Euclid’s magnum opus Elements. He also made decisive contributions in Geometry, the Theory of Numbers, Optics and Logistics.

In addition to being a mathematician, Archytas was a prolific inventor. He invented the toy rattle, the pulley and the screw but his most magnificent invention of all was the world’s first flying machine. It was termed Peristera or Pigeon because of its shape. It was constructed by wood and an intricate system which utilized compressed air or steam to propel it into the air. The machine flew approximately 200 meters on its first flight, 179 meters more than the first flying machine of the Wright Bros. in 1903.

In a nutshell, Archytas was one of the leading mathematicians in the ancient world, equal to Euclid and Pythagoras. Even though most of his work has been lost, the one that remains today is still sufficient enough to be regarded as monumental and for him to be considered one of the greatest polymaths in world history. Without his inventions, there wouldn’t exist today anything from a steam engine to an entire factory.

Bibliography

1. “Archytas o Tarantinos”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens: 1946. Print.
2. Ayfantis, Georgios. Anthropos & Epistimi – Enimerosis: Prehistory and History of Man, Science & Civilization. Athens: Hellinikon Selas, 2009. Print.
3. Kotsanas, Kostas. Ancient Greek Technology: The Inventions of the Ancient Greeks.  Pyrgos: Kostas Kotsanas, 2013. Print
4. Sakellariou, Georgios. Pythagoras the Teacher of the Centuries. Ideotheatron: Athens, 1963. Print.
5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Archytas” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 3 Oct. 2015.

Unknown Soldier

“Such were these men, worthy of their country. And for you that remain, you may pray for a safer fortune, but you ought not to be less venturously minded against the enemy; not weighing the profit by an oration only, which any man amplifying, may recount, to you that know as well as he, the many commodities that arise by fighting valiantly against your enemies; but contemplating the power of the city in the actions of the same from day to day performed, and thereby becoming enamoured of it. And when this power of the city shall seem great to you, consider then, that the same was purchased by valiant men, and by men that knew their duty, and by men that were sensible of dishonour when they were in fight; and by such men, as though they failed of their attempt, yet would not be wanting to the city with their virtue, but made unto it a most honourable contribution. For having every one given his body to the commonwealth, they receive in place thereof an undecaying commendation and a most remarkable sepulchre; not wherein they are buried so much, as wherein their glory is laid up, upon all occasions both of speech and action to be remembered for ever. For to famous men all the earth is a sepulchre: and their virtues shall be testified, not only by the inscription in stone at home, but by an unwritten record of the mind, which more than of any monument will remain with every one for ever. In imitation therefore of these men, and placing happiness in liberty, and liberty in valour, be forward to encounter the dangers of war. For the miserable and desperate men, are not they that have the most reason to be prodigal of their lives; but rather such men, as if they live, may expect a change of fortune, and whose losses are greatest if they miscarry in aught. For to a man of any spirit, death, which is without sense, arriving whilst he is in vigour and common hope, is nothing so bitter as after a tender life to be brought into misery”.

Excerpt from Pericles’ Funeral Oration by Thucydides, Translated by Thomas Hobbes

Plato

Philosopher, Mathematician, Astronomer, Scholar, Psychologist (427 BC – 348 BC)

Plato, the therapist of the souls, the eternal Teacher of mankind is a cosmohistorical figure of world history whose work exerted a huge influence on the human thought and spirit. Platonic philosophy is what guided humanity throughout the ages from ancient times to this day and what still determines its course in history. Together with his teacher, the immortal Socrates, and his student, the wise Aristotle, they form the holy trinity of philosophy. Plato’s life, work and legacy unveil to the human soul insuperable wisdom from a higher world co-existing with the human world which Beings from a Higher Plane inhabit. His wise predecessors Orpheus, Hesiod, Homer, Socrates and Pythagoras opened the gates of philosophy. Plato walked through them.

Plato was born in Athens. His first contact with philosophy was Socrates. Without him, there would not have been nor Plato, nor Aristotle, nor Western philosophy. Prior to that, Plato was a poet. Even though he abandoned poetry and turned to philosophy, his works contain several poetic elements, namely the Platonic myths. From Socrates, Plato discovered himself («γνῶθι σαυτόν») and his inner virtues. From that point onward, he was to continue the path of his spiritual development alone.

His spiritual journey began when he travelled to Magna Graecia to study Pythagorean philosophy and mathematics. There he became acquainted with Archytas of Tarentum, the chief Pythagorean representative at the time with whom Plato formed a strong bond of friendship. Archytas initiated Plato to the Orphic and Pythagorean mysteries. From there, Plato travelled to Egypt and Cyrene.

Upon returning to Athens, he founded the Academy, the world’s greatest spiritual center and University ever built by mankind (the first University of mankind was founded by Pythagoras and Archytas). Its goal was to attract all intellectuals from the Greek world in an effort to promote sciences and philosophy and to cultivate mathematics, a true “Pan-epistemion” (universal science). With its enormous library, it served as a storehouse of knowledge that was to be disseminated to the entire world by the Acdemy’s students. Other activites of the Academy included the development of geometry, geography, astronomy, ethics, social and political sciences, art and the classification of all animals and plants. The Academy was open to all men and women of any ethnicity who wished to carry on the torch of Platonic philosophy, provided that thet knew geometry («μηδεὶς ἀγεωμέτρητος εἰσίτω»). Most of Greece’s greatest philosophic and scientific minds of the 4^th century BC were students in the Academy, namely Aristotle, Eudoxus and Xenocrates. The Academy shined as the sky’s brightest star of knowledge from the time of its foundation till 83 BC and then again from 410 until 529, when it was closed by the Emperor Justinian.

Plato is the Patriarch of Greek Meditation (Ἑλληνικὸς ΔΙΑ –Λογισμός), together with Pythagoras. He is the one who continued Pythagoras and Socrates’ work and took it farther. Plato’s books contain all the knowledge that he found after years of meditation. His masterpieces are an eternal consignment to humanity containing all the information given to him by the Divine Beings during his endoscopic flights. This information which Plato received was carefully coded inside the Platonic myths and speaks to the reader’s soul. Their demythification provides the basis of the therapy of the soul. With his philosophy, Plato aimed at the equilibrium of the mind and soul. Through the catharsis of the human soul, following careful and critical self-examination, without external intervening forces, the soul becomes awakened and healed from its monsters and traumas. Man’s soul ultimately comes into contact and unifies with the Divine, the same way as his Teachers Pythagoras, Socrates, Orpheus, Heraclitus, Democritus, Archytas and Hippocrates did. This was the way Plato approached the issues of the soul which he left to humanity to heal itself.

Plato’s books have been traditionally compiled as tetralogies. These are the following, in order by which they were originally written by Plato: Ephthyphron – Apology of Socrates – Criton – Phaedon, Cratylus – Theaetetus – Sophist – Politicus, Parmenides – Philebus – Symposium – Phaedros, Alcibiades – Alcibiades second – Hipparchus – Erastae, Theages – Harmides – Laches – Lysis, Eythydemus – Protagoras – Gorgias – Menon, Hippias major – Hippias minor – Ion – Menexenus, Cleitophon – Republic – Timaeus – Critias, Minos – Laws – Epinomis – Epistoles.

The issues which he approached regarding the soul were the following: He explored the world of ideas, the world of the souls, where do they come from, how they are born. How do they incarnate and where do they go after “death”. What are the soul’s parts and characteristics, what are the types of souls and how do they heal. His magnum opus Timaeus – Critias is the Holy Bible of Humanity. It is the main book in which Plato unravels most of his metaphysical findings including the gigantic Platonic cosmology and God and provides the first scientific explanation on the creation of the universe and the creation of the beings. In addition, it is the book in which he speaks about Atlantis, the Athenian-Atlantean war, its downfall and the rise of Athens about 11.000 years ago.

Justice is a quality of the Divine. It is the main topic of Plato’s Republic. In it, Plato describes the ideal Republic, the one that is governed by the virtuous philosopher-kings and which if ever implemented, humanity will be salvaged from its passions. This shows that Plato was involved with political philosophy but chose not to be involved with them on a practical level. It also contains metaphysical topics such as the nature and the situations of the soul. For spiritualism and politics go together in Plato’s Republic. Phaedros is the golden book of psychology. Among some of its topics include the stimulation of the soul by the Muses, rendering it able to educate other souls with hymns and myths (Hesiod, Homer) and the entire process of Greek Meditation by which the soul comes into contact with the Divine. Phaedon is yet another metaphysical book on the soul’s immortality and reincarnation. Like in the book Phaedros, the repeating symbols of the horse and the Charioteer play a central role. The critical self-examination and the definition of the Greek Meditation are the key points of Plato’s Sophist and Plato’s Theaetetus. In the latter he also presents the mathematical work of mathematician Theaetetus. Laws is the book in which Plato dwells in the depths of human nature. He discovers the divine essence of man’s soul and explains the importance of virtue. The significance of virtue is also a big topic in Plato’s Republic and Timaeus. Cratylus explains the connection between the Greek language and symbolism.

Plato got involved with mathematics later in his life. He was the one who divided the world into noetic (eternal) and aesthetic (changing) and established that one could only interpret the celestial phenomena of the noetic world using a ruler and a compass. Geometry, therefore, according to Plato was the most sacred tool to research the Divine world as geometric shapes represent shapes from the world of ideas. Plato suggested that ideas are numbers. Plato highly advanced mathematics, founded Platonic stereometry (Theaetetus, Menon, Timaeus), made innovations in the fields of sequences, theory of numbers and mathematical physics (Timaeus). Except from being a philosopher and mathematician, Plato was an important theologic reformer. He used mathematics to interpret God and the creation of the world. He explained that the aesthetic world was created by the Creator God by geometry and stereometry in the image of the world of ideas. Finally, Plato was involved with ethics, epistemology, theology and of course astronomy. The theory of the World of Ideas and the Kinetic theory of the soul belong to him.

Platonic philosophy never ceased to be in the epicenter of world philosophy. During thr 2^nd century BC its main representatives were Panaetius and Poseidonius of Rhodes. During the Roman era Platonic philosophy was further disseminated to the Western civilization thanks to the Roman philosophers, primarily Cicero. In the 3^rd century Platonists included Plutarch, Porphyrius, Proclus, Iamblichus, Hypatia, Damascius, Plotine and the physician Galen. Even in the dark years of the Middle Ages, Platonic philosophy never stopped flourishing and inspiring. With the chief representatives of that era being Cardinal Bessarion and Georgios Gemistus – Pletho, humanity stepped out of the darkness of religion and into the light of the Renaissance thanks to their contribution, was well as the contribution of significant Greek and Italian scholars like Michael Psellos, Cozimo de Medici, Manuel Chrysoloras, Marsilio Ficino, Aldus Manutius etc., who further disseminated Plato’s philosophy to the world where it reached the hands of modern generation.

The soul of the seekers of the truth, who indulge on Plato’s wisdom will grow golden wings and will fly to the Divine Beings where it will unite with them. Πᾶσα γὰρ (ἡ ψυχὴ) τὸ πάλαι πτερωτή – Πλάτωνος Φαῖδρος (Because the entire soul is winged – Plato’s Phaedros).

Bibliography

1. Altani. Arritoi Logoi: Hellenikos Dia-logismos, Vol 1 and 2. Athens: Georgiades, 2012. Print.
2. Altani. Arritoi Logoi Kentauroi, Amazones, Medousa. Georgiades: Athens, 2005. Print.
3. Altani. Arritoi Logoi: Odysseus – Socrates. Georgiades. Athens, 2015. Print.
4. Georgakopoulos, Konstantinos. Ancient Greek Scientists. Athens: Georgiades, 1995. Print.
5. Gravigger, Petros. Pythagoras and the Mystic Teachings of Pythagoreanism. Athens: Ideotheatron Dimeli, 1998. Print.
6. Koutoulas, Diamantis. The Ancient Greek Religion and the Mathematics. Thessaloniki: Psaras, 2001. Print.
7. “Platon”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
8. Pleures, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron Publications, 2014. Print.

Simonides of Ceos

Lyric Poet (c556 BC – c469 BC)

Simonides was a figure whose work was recognized during his own lifetime as a poet. As a connoisseur of the Greek language, he gained widespread popularity for his monumental poems commemorating a heroic death, a victory or other deeds worth remaining in history. Among them are the elegiac verses written for the heroes that died triumphantly at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, a poem written as a reminiscent of the glorious victory of the Greeks in the Battle of Plateae in 479 BC against the Persian army and his most famous verse on the 300 Spartans that fell in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.

The reason that Simonides distinguished from other poets of his time lies in the mathematical structure of the Greek language. We know that in Ancient Greece, the letters of the alphabet also served as numbers and that each word was represented by an arithmetic value. Bellow is an examination of his most famous verse on the Battle of Thermopylae:

“Ω ΞΕΙΝ, ΑΓΓΕΛΕΙΝ ΛΑΚΕΔΑΙΜΟΝΙΟΙΣ ΟΤΙ ΤΗΔΕ ΚΕΙΜΕΘΑ, ΤΟΙΣ ΚΕΙΝΩΝ ΡΗΜΑΣΙ ΠΕΙΘΟΜΕΝΟΙ”

(Oh friend passing by, go tell the Spartans that here, obedient to their laws we lie).

Now assuming that:

A=1, B=2, Γ=3, Δ=4, Ε=5, F=6, Ζ=7, Η=8, Θ=9, Ι=10, Κ=20, Λ=30, Μ=40, Ν=50, Ξ=60, Ο=70, Π=80, Q=90, Ρ=100, Σ=200, Τ=300, Υ=400, Φ=500, Χ=600, Ψ=700, Ω=800, =900

Ω ΞΕΙΝ, ΑΓΓΕΛΕΙΝ ΛΑΚΕΔΑΙΜΟΝΙΟΙΣ = 1583 = 600π – (1+300) (α)

(Oh friend passing by, go tell the Spartans)

ΟΤΙ ΤΗΔΕ ΚΕΙΜΕΘΑ, ΤΟΙΣ ΚΕΙΝΩΝ ΡΗΜΑΣΙ ΠΕΙΘΟΜΕΝΟΙ = 3010 = 10 x (1+300) (β)

(that here, obedient to their laws we lie)

We can understand from equation (a) that Leonidas (symbolized with the number 1) and the 300 Spartans by their death leave the World (600=ΚΟΣΜΟΣ=WORLD) of the mortals,  or from eternal life (600π), and enter the World of immortality, symbolized by 10 x (1+300).

Therefore, it is evident from the mathematical deciphering of the sentences that the actual reason behind the popularity of the encomium during antiquity was because not only of the poetic expression of the highest degree of sacrifice in the name of duty, but also because, mathematically, it expressed the essence of the glorious event.

It is indeed remarkable the degree by which Simonides could handle the language. Unfortunately, most of his work has been lost, with only mere fragments of some of his poems remaining. He is also credited as being the one to have introduced the letters Η, Ω, Ξ, Ψ in the Greek Alphabet in the 4th century BC.

Bibliography

1. Manias, Theophanes. The Unknown Masterpieces of the Ancient Greeks. Athens: Pyrinos Kosmos, 2006. Print.