Galen

Physician, Philosopher, Astronomer, Physicist (129 – 216)

For some, he is the Father of Anatomy, for others he is the Father of Experimental Physiology and for others he is honoured as the Father of General Pathology. Undisputedly, however, Claudius Galen was the greatest physician of antiquity next to Hippocrates himself, as well as his spiritual successor. He was the physician who dominated the whole Oecumen for 1500 years. His massive work of monumental proportions, which has been translated into numerous ancient and modern languages, spans the fields of philosophy, physics, logic, astronomy, music, ethics and most importantly medicine.

Galen was born in Pergamum as the son of Nicon, a geometrist, architect, astronomer, renowned for his prudence. Galen studied philosophy and medicine for many years, first travelling to Smyrna, and then to Corinth, Cilicia, Phoenicia, Palestine, Lemnos, Scyros, Crete and Cyprus until arriving in Alexandria, the most illustrious spiritual center of humanity. There he enriched his knowledge on anatomy. He practiced his knowledge on orthopedics and surgery by treating the athletes and gladiators in Pergamum. When he came to Rome, he rose to fame thanks to his surgical skills and pharmacological knowledge. Galen returned to Pergamum for some time, only to return to Italy after an invitation from Marcus Aurelius. He created one of the most perfect medical systems, which dominated the medical world until the Renaissance.

As the quintessence of the philosopher-doctor, Galen estimated that philosophy was a prerequisite for medicine. His philosophy was that the doctor ought to be a philosopher, because philosophy is the science of truth, and medicine cannot exist without truth. Ethics were another important aspect of the philosopher-doctor, as he was obliged to practice medicine not for the honours, the money or the politics. Moreover, Galen expanded the work of Aristotle and Theophrastus in Logic as well as metaphysics. He was called the “first servant of nature”.

Three basic principles summarize Galen’s medical philosophy, which he himself expressed: First, that it is impossible to understand the nature of the disease without proper knowledge of the function and construction of the human body. Second, that there is no organ in the human body without a purpose. Third, that aging, even though an unstoppable process, it can be delayed.

Galen’s philosophy on biology concerned the existence of 3 classes, which comprised the living bodies: solids, humors and spirits. Wind, water, fire and earth represented the four elements which comprised each category and to each of them befall an equal amount of drastic elements: warmth, cold, wetness and dryness. From their mixture are produced the 4 humors of the human body: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Spirits are 3 types: vital, living and animalistic. From these entities derive 3 forces which govern the living beings: the instincts (ἐπιθυμητική), which reside in the liver, the emotions (θυμοειδής) which reside in the heart and logic (λογική) which is found in the brain. For Galen, the physiological equilibrium of all four humours and the harmonic interplay between the three forces determine the requirements of a healthy life. If this equilibrium is not met, then disease will ensue.

Galen made pioneering discoveries in Anatomy and Physiology. He made important discoveries in myology, first describing the muscles of mastication, the brachium, the muscles of the chest and the hamstring muscles as well as the muscles of the larynx. He described the structure of the heart, discovered the ductus arteriosus and the fact that the arteries begin from the heart. His most groundbreaking discovery, however, came from the study of the circulatory and respiratory systems and was the existence of the capillaries, 1559 years before their “official” discovery by Marcelo Malpighi. First demonstrated that the nerves are controlled by the brain and discerned them between motor and sensory, described nervus vagus, the layers of the eyeball, the chiasma opticum and the physiology of vision. Galen was also a revolutionary surgeon, achieving widespread acclaim for treating patients successfully without pain. He did general surgeries, orthopedic surgeries, pleurectomies, tooth extractions, amputations, gastrorrhaphies and nasal polyp removal.

Furthermore, the great physician made extraordinary contributions in General and Special Pathology. In his books he describes with complete accuracy pleuritis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, lung cancer and lung abscess, liver diseases, diabetes, appendicitis, icterus, colics, neural paralysis, epilepsy, filariasis, gangrene, lithiasis and erysipelas. He had profound knowledge on the circulatory system, as well as on heredity, contagiousness, psoriasis, toxins, immunity and chronic diseases. He distinguished pathognomic signs from non-pathognomic. Other fields of medicine which Galen expanded were embryology, obstetrics and gynaecology, urology, andrology, orthopaedics, dermatology, tropical medicine and infectious diseases, pharmacology, homeopathy, clinical nutrition and hygiene.

Galen was said to be guided by Asclepius in his dreams. He had enormous respect for Hippocrates, whom he referred to as “Divine” and “Hegemon of all the good arts”. Nevertheless, his great admiration towards him was not based on dogmatism as the well-known phrase says “Hippocrates says yes, Galen says no.” Galen’s works, which consisted of 125 medical and 115 non-medical – philosophical or mathematicoastronomical ones, were the mainstay resources for learning medicine in the Western world until the Renaissance or early 19^th century. During all these 1500 years, all medical treatises that were written were repetitive rehashes either of Hippocrates or Galen.

Bibliography

1. “Galenos”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Tziropoulou – Eustathiou, Anna. O en te leksei Logos. Georgiades: Athens, 2009. Print.

Lysias

Rhetorician (c.450 BC – c.380 BC)

Lysias is one of the most influential logographers in world history, together with Isocrates. He was active in Athens during the Golden Age of Pericles and was honoured among the Athenians as one of the city’s best citizens. His father, Cephalus, was a wealthy craftsman from Syracuse who appears as one of the main characters, together with Lysias’ elder brother, Polemarchus in Plato’s Republic.

Lysias studied rhetoric in Thurium and came to work in Athens as a rhetorididacalos. He was persecuted when the Thirty Tyrants took over and his brother was killed, forcing him to exile to Megara. Upon the restoration of democracy, Lysias returned to Athens and was named an honourary citizen.

Lysias wrote a total of 425 speeches, of which only 34 survive to this day. These include judicial, epideictic and deliberative speeches, which he wrote for public and private cases. His work has significant historical and aesthetic value. It is a valuable source of information for the Peloponnesian War, the Corinthian War and the politicosocial life in Athens during the reign of the Thirty Tyrants. Among his most notable speeches are Olympiakos, where he tries to persuade the Greeks to go to war against the tyrant Dionysus of Sicily, Epithaphios, in which lauds the fallen heroes of the Corinthian war in 394 BC, For Mantitheus, a judicial rhetoric to prove the innocence of Mantitheus, after being accused of being an ally to the Thirty Tyrants, and For the Weak, which was orated by a handicapped citizen in support of his right to receive pension. It is believed that he wrote a speech for Socrates’ defense during his apology when he visited him in the prison, which Socrates declined.

Dionysus of Halicarnassus praises Lysias for his virtuous ethopoiea and his ability to adapt the speech to his client’s persona, to an extent that the speech seems to be an original work of the speaker. He was renowned for telling the truth with persuasiveness, simplicity and logic. The great rhetoricians who followed, such as Isocrates, Hyperides and Demosthenes, all considered him as their prime exemplar.

To this day, his works are considered masterpieces, and provide the mainstream source of education for rhetoric and those who wish to master the art of persuasive speech. Lysias laid the foundations of rhetoric logos, setting the paradigm of the virtuous rhetorician.

1. Dalkos Konstantinos, Dalkos Christos, Manousopoulos Georgios, Bonovas Nikolaos, Parginos Spiridon. Ρητορικά Κείμενα (Β’ Τάξη Γενικού Λυκείου – Θεωρητικής Κατεύθυνσης). Οργανισμός Εκδόσεως Διδακτικών Βιβλίων:Αθήνα, 1999. Print.
2. “Lysias”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
3. militaryveterangamer. The Rhetoric Theory 4: Types of Rhetoric. Ign.com. Web. October 6, 2012. Retrieved on January 20, 2017.
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica. ”Lysias” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. February 28, 2008. Retrieved on January 20, 2017.

Agatharchides

Naturalist, Philosopher (2^nd century BC)

Agatharchides was a Peripatic (Aristotelic) philosopher, geographer, historian and natural scientist who flourished during the 2^nd century BC. Even though most of his work has not survived, he is considered as one of the most influential grammarians of the 2^nd century BC and his influence in the ancient world is believed to have been significant.

He was born in Cnidus at an unknown date and travelled to Alexandria, where he worked and studied. Originally he worked as a teacher until he became anagnostis and secretary of Heraclides of Lembus, one of the ambassadors of Ptolemy VII the Philometor in Syria, whom Agatharchides accompanied during negotiations and important political events. The date of his death is also not known, but what is known is that he was 75 years old in 132 BC.

Agatharchides was the first to provide the Egyptians with the real cause of the periodic flooding of river Nile and was involved with the science of ethnography. He is also the founder of Parasitology, a medical specialty focused on studying the diseases caused by parasites. He wrote treatises such as Circumnavigation of the Red Sea, On Africa and On Asia. In addition, he was the first to write a book on the history of Europe, consisting of 40 tomes and on the history of Asia, consisting of 10 books. On Asia was the book from which the Persians were taught their own history during subsequent years. These books also contained information about the strange plants and animals discovered in these continents.

Agatharchides attempted to distinguish mythology from history. He upgraded the role of ethnography and made it a part of history instead of geography. As a proponent of Aristotle, he was less interested in metaphysics and more dedicated to understanding the world based on the massive amount of data that he had compiled during his research. Epicurus was one of his inspirations. Poseidonius, Diodorus of Sicily and Photius I of Constantinople were only a few of whom he influenced.

Bibliography

1. “Agatharchides”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Αγαθαρχίδης ο Κνίδιος. Ίδρυμα Μείζωνος Ελληνισμού, Μικρά Ασία. Asiaminor.ehw.gr. Web. Retrieved on January 7, 2017.

Plotinus

Philosopher (204 – c.270)

Founder of the Neoplatonic School of philosophy and one of the last ancient Greek philosophers of the Graeco-Roman period, Plotinus achieved revival of the Pythagorean and Platonic philosophy at a time when Hellenism had reached its downfall and Christianity began prevailing. As a spiritual successor of Plato, Plotinus recreated the Platonic philosophy and developed a sophisticated philosophical movement based on the teachings not solely of Plato, but also of Pythagoras, Aristotle and Epicurus.

The world in which Plotinus was born was much different from that of classical antiquity. It was a world of ethical and spiritual decline. Philosophic Schools had become scarce and unproductive while Greece had become subjugated to the Romans. Concurrently, the rise of Christianity had plunged the world into superstition and indifference. The result was confused souls who had lost their purpose seeking new ideals and values in a world where knowledge and truth had been replaced by faith and belief.

In the midst of this illusory world appeared Plotinus, tasked with providing a new direction to humanity’s misguided soul. He began studying philosophy from the age of 8, constantly changing schools and teachers, until he met Ammonius Saccas, next to whom he studied for 8 consecutive years. Plotinus completed his studies in the Museum of Alexandria, the biggest spiritual center of Hellenism at the time, home of thousands of spiritual treasures which were used by Plotinus for laying the foundations of Neoplatonism. He travelled to Persia, Antioch and settled in Rome, where he founded a school composed of a small circle of students. Notable students of his were Porphyry, Gentilianus and Rogatianus, a high-ranked senator who gave up all his property and freed his slaves upon hearing Plotinus’ teachings.

Plotinus’ philosophy is considered to be the last perfect expression of the Hellenic soul. He calls humanity to contemplation to discover the true meaning of eudaimonism and happiness; the return to the One, the Ultimate Being and the unification with that One Being, from which all life emanates. No name can express the grandness of the One. It is the force from which all souls come and to which all will return. The One created the universe and all life-forms.

The practicality of Plotinus’ philosophy is for man to live an ethical and virtuous life that will make him similar to God («Θεῶ ὁμοιωθῆναι») and return to his divine fatherland, leaving behind the materialistic world in which the soul was entrapped into the body and celebrating a state of unification of the soul with The One.

There exist two worlds: the earthly and the divine world, which contradict each other. The earthly world is the living image of the noetic/spiritual world that is contained within Nous (intellect) as a thought. Man’s soul participates in both of these worlds since its origin is from the divine world. Hence, the soul is in constant battle with the forces of the conscious world that draw the soul toward it. The soul’s goal is to defeat these forces and head toward the hyperconscious world, from which is originates and become one with God. This is Plotinus’ metaphysical idea on the human soul, which he addresses to humanity in order for them to live a virtuous and ethical life. Only in the hyperconscious world will man find true happiness; not in the conscious world where materials prevail.

Plotinus’ hyperconscious world is comprised of three foundational elements of his philosophy: The One, the Nous and the Cosmic Soul. The One, as discussed above, is the infinite source of reality. The Nous (intellect) is the Divine Mind, a separate entity of The One which is paralleled to the rays of the sunlight, which befall on The One. This way, the One contemplates itself. The Nous is the source of all material things, the origin of the Platonic Forms or Ideas. Nous is not a self-sufficient entity like The One but possesses the ability to meditate on the thoughts which form its very being. Finally, the Cosmic Soul, the third level of reality, is a concept defined by Plotinus that gives the purpose of God’s descent to the earthly world. The higher part of the Soul remains eternally in the Divine Realm while the lower part of the Soul, the active one, descends into the aesthetic world and falls victim to the materialistic hedones, forgetting its divine origin. Plotinus struggles to return the lower part of his Soul to the Divine Realm through the cultivation of Virtue, the practice of Dialectic and Contemplation.

Plotinus revived all of the highest spiritual conceptions ever discovered by the Greek philosophers in attempt to salvage the fore coming generations. Neoplatonic philosophy, which Plotinus founded, is a magnificent compilation of all the spiritual forces of antiquity, comprised of a complete system of philosophy, religion, metaphysics and science. It formed the leading philosophical movement of the Graeco-Roman era and the Byzantine era. Plotinus was the last Greek intellect of antiquity and his philosophy the last glimmer of the ancient Greek spirit. He wanted to overcome Christianity but it proved to be stronger than his own religion. Plotinus continued the work of Pythagoras and Plato and became one of humanity’s greatest Teachers. His work, in turn, was continued by his successors Proclus and Pletho – Gemistus, who cultivated and disseminated the Neoplatonic philosophy.

Bibliography

1. Gravigger, Petros. Pythagoras and the Mystical Teaching of Pythagoreanism. Ideotheatron * Dimeli: Athens, 1998. Print.
2. Moore, Edward. Plotinus. Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Iep.utm.edu. Web. Retrieved on December 30, 2016.
3. Pleures, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron Publications, 2014. Print.
4. “Plotinus”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
5. Stokes, Philip. Philosophy: 100 Essential Thinkers. Fytraki: Athens, 2008. Print.

Epicurus

Philosopher, Physicist, Scholar (341 BC – 270 BC)

Epicurus was the founder of the Epicurean school of philosophy. While his teachings in physics are largely similar to those of Democritus concerning the atom and the parallel worlds, Epicurus’ key concepts in his philosophy were hedonism and eudaimonia. He was also involved with metaphysics, ethics and epistemology. His philosophy had wide acceptance, even after his own death.

Epicurus came from Samos. He settled in Athens where he purchased land and founded “The Garden”, a philosophic school which put Epicurus’ teachings into practice. Men and women were equally accepted as students there, as well as hetaerae, a fact that misled some people to believe that they conducted orgies.

Epicurus’ teachings on physics were largely inspired by those of the Atomists. As Cicero said: “Is there anything in Epicurus’ physics which does not come from Democritus?”. He believed that atoms constituted the smallest structural unit of the universe. Everything tangible in this world, as well as the soul, is composed of atoms. Actions and events are the result of atoms colliding and entangling with each other forming presentations which we perceive as reality. Atoms exist in empty space called the void. Epicurus believed that nothing comes into existence from something that does not exist. As a result, the universe, which is made of countless atoms, has no beginning and no end; instead, it has always existed and will continue to for infinite time. The world, according to the philosopher, was ruled not by God, but by some sort of nature without logic, comprised of atoms. He was not an atheist, as many believed but he did not attribute certain beliefs to God as the majority falsely did. Epicurus also spoke about the existence of infinite parallel worlds.

Epicurus differentiated his atomic theory from Democritus in some points. He introduced the third characteristic of the atom, after the size and shape; the atomic weight. This he perceived as a necessary cause for the movement of the atom. All atoms have weight; some are heavier while others are lighter than others. This is the reason why some objects in the macrocosmos are heavier than others and vice-versa. Second, he believed that sensations and certain properties of the body are real, because these are capabilities that apply only to specific atoms that make up bodies. Hence, sensations give us information about the external world, based on which we make judgments through our thought. Thought depends on our senses to the extent that human intellect does not exist without first having existed in his senses. Third, Epicurus spoke about the swerve, a mechanical property of the atom concerning its motion.

Epicurus wrote about 300 books on his philosophical views on hedonism and eudaimonism, most of which survive only in fragments. According to him, the purpose of life is to live a happy life. Hedonism means pleasure and it is what humans attain for themselves through their actions. Everything that man does from the time he is born is to seek pleasure instinctively. However, Epicurus taught not about materialistic pleasure but about spiritual pleasure, the highest pleasures of all. This can be achieved by living a life of virtue and limiting one’s desires. Justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance are the virtues needed to live a happy life. Pleasure would ultimately be man’s reward of living a virtuous life. In addition, sciences such as philosophy, physics and logic are tools that provide happiness to man because it rids him of desires, fear and misconceptions. Friendship formed a very essential part of the Epicurean philosophy, as the philosopher placed great importance in this good.

The Epicurean philosophical system, including the atomic theory, metaphysics and ethics attempted not only to provide an explanation of the materialistic world, sensory physiology, human evolution and societies but most importantly to explore the nature of the soul, as did most ancient Greek philosophers. His teachings, which were put into practice aimed at making the soul virtuous.

Bibliography

1. Konstan, David, “Epicurus”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Stanford.edu. Retrieved on December 18, 2016.
2. Makrygiannis, Demetrios. Cosmology and Ethics of Democritus. Athens: Georgiades, 1999. Print.
3. O’Keef, Tim. Epicurus. Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Iep.utm.edu. Web. Retrieved on December 18, 2016.
4. Pleures, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron Publications, 2014. Print.

Stesichorus

Lyric poet (c.630 BC – 555 BC)

Stesichorus was one of the nine Lyric Poets of antiquity. He descended from Magna Graecia, known today as Sicily. His name, which means “teacher of chorus”, was adopted during his career as a lyric poet. He is commemorated by numerous scholars, namely Lucian and Cicero.

Stesichorus was a highly influential and prolific writer. His works were compiled into a collection of 26 books, which included poems, hymns, elegies, hasmata etc. The themes of his work were borrowed from Ancient Greek mythology. Notable ones include Helen, The Wooden Horse, Oresteia and Homecoming of the Heroes, based on Homer’s Iliad, works based on the Argonauts by the Orphics and the labours of Heracles. They would be instantly recognized by the public and were beloved even centuries after his death, when the tragedians of the Golden Age used his works as an influence for their masterpieces. Like all lyric poets, Stesichorus accompanied his songs with a lyre or kithara and a chorus that danced to the words sang.

Moreover, Stesichorus wrote poems centered on love, virtue and religion. The technique of his poetry was innovative. He is credited with the invention of the triad: three stanza metrical groupings, antistrophic lines of the same meter and an epode. This became so popular that the phrase “He does not even know the three of Stesichorus” was coined to show ones’ ignorance.

Stesichorus was the greatest prodrome of Pindar and one of the most renowned representatives of Ancient Greek lyrical poetry. Simonides of Ceos compared him to Homer in that “…just like Homer, Stesichorus sang for the people” while Antipatrus of Sedona said that Homer had descended to inhabit Stesichorus’ body. His influence on art and sculpture was enormous. After his death at the age of 85, the Himerians minted coins with Stesichorus depicted on them in memory of his glory.

Bibliography

1. “Stesichorus’. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Stesichorus. In2greece.com. Web. Retrieved on December 3, 2016.
3. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Stesichorus” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 3 December. 2016.

Protagoras

Philosopher (480 BC – 415 BC)

One of the most renowned pre-Socratic philosophers and one of the main representatives of the Sophist School of philosophy. Protagoras came from Abdera, the same city-state as Democritus, who served as his teacher. His job, according to his own words was to educate people. Plato, in his homonymous book admits that Protagoras indeed educated people.

Protagoras flourished during the Golden Age of Pericles, a time when philosophy, art and sciences had reached their peak. Protagoras was hired by Pericles as a private tutor of his children and was assigned the drawing up of the laws for the Athenian colony of Thurii in Southern Italy. There he met Herodotus, Hippodamus and Empedocles. His eminence was such that Euripides, a great admirer of Protagoras, had allowed him to give lectures in his house. He eventually made a fortune 10 times larger than that of Pheidias.

Protagoras expressed three main doctrines. The first was that man is the measure of all things. This is the very first phrase of his book Truth. In it, Protagoras lays the foundations of relativism. He writes that man is the only measure that can prove if things that exist truly exist and whether things that do not exist truly do not exist. For Protagoras, truth is relative to the knower; reality is constantly being formed by the relationship between man and the surrounding environment or cosmos and is perceived by man depending on his inner self.

His second doctrine was orthoepeia, the correct use of words. As a great educator and teacher himself, he made great contributions to pedagogic science and laid important foundations of grammar. He divided the three genders, determined the tenses and the moods of verbs. For him, language is an artificial construct made by man as a product of convention. He believed that education should reach the depths of the soul in order to have results. He also believed that teaching required a natural talent and that general education for children was necessary not for acquisition of knowledge but rather for the development of a personality. He accepted the four main divisions of virtue: prudence, phronesis, justice and fortitude. These opinions are expressed in his book Megas Logos.

The third doctrine of Protagoras was agnosticism. Man was not in a position to know whether Gods existed or not as there is no solid proof concerning their existence. His views on agnosticism were documented in On Gods, which was burned in public view by the Athenians after being persecuted and exiled for atheism.

Racial objectivism was another key idea in Protagoras’ philosophy, according to which different races have different points of view than others because people of the same social group have the same customs, traditions, language etc. For example, the same thing could be judged as just by the Persian but unjust by the Greek. Protagoras was a prolific writer. Ancient Greek biographers have attributed a large number of books to him, most of which survive today only by the title of their names. Some of the most notable ones was On the State of Things in the Beginning. In it, Protagoras describes the primitive state of humanity and its necessity to establish civilization. The growth of civilization occurred as a necessity of man to preserve himself and to enjoy a better life.

Protagoras’ works had tremendous influence in the world of philosophy, mainly with the doctrine that man creates his own world and truths based on his subjective view of the world. He was a pioneer in education and rhetoric. Even though he came into conflict with some of Plato’s ideas, he was well respected by him to the point where he wrote a book after his name. Thanks to him, Plato began searching for the transcendent forms, the .theory of ideas. For his radicalism, nevertheless, he was not kindly tolerated by society.

Bibliography

1. Pleures, Konstantinos. The persecution of the best elements of society. Athens: Hilektron publications, 2013. Print.
2. Pleures, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron Publications, 2014. Print.
3. Poster, Carol. Protagoras. Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Iep.utm.edu. Web. Retrieved on November 23, 2016.
4. “Protagoras”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.

Aristides the Just

Statesman (540 BC – 468 BC)

The most honourable man of Athens according to Herodotus was Aristides of Lysimachus. He was nicknamed “the Just” and was one of the most renowned statesmen and strategists of ancient Athens. He was the founder of the Delian League, which constituted an important part of the Athenian county, was a participant of the Solonian political reform and one of the major commanders of the Battle of Marathon.

Originally a rival of Themistocles, he was ostracized for opposing Themistocles’ plan of building a fleet to confront the Persians in Salamis. Nevertheless, he returned in time and fought bravely in the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC and reclaimed the island Psytallia, ultimately reconciling with Themistocles. One year later, he led the Athenians to victory against the Persians in the Battle of Plateae. After the events of Plateae, Aristides led 30 Athenian ships in the Greek fleet, led by Pausanias, to free the lands of Byzantium and the island of Cyprus from Persian rule. The Delian League’s leadership was entrusted to Aristides, who had proven himself as a skilled and just statesman. He established the fund of the League in Delos, which Pericles later moved to Athens.

Aristides was not a democrat. His political beliefs placed him on the side of the Spartans. He admired mostly Lycurgus, the founder of the Spartan political system. Combined with his immense fame and glory, Aristides was a target of hatred and by the Athenians, especially the politicians, who were very jealous of him. Nonetheless, Aristides did not care what other people believed about him, as long as he did the right thing. He was characterized by a strong sense of justice, morality, prudence and philopatry.

According to tradition, when the Athenians were voting on Aristides’ exile, an illiterate peasant approached Aristides and asked him to write Aristides’ name on the ostracon. Aristides, without revealing his identity asked the peasant the reason why he was voting in favour of his exile. The peasant replied “I don’t even know him, but I am tired of constantly hearing that he is “just””. Without hesitating, Aristides carved his name in the ostracon and gave it to the peasant. In the end, he died in complete poverty with all of Greece’s treasures in his hands.

Bibliography

1. “Aristides”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Pleures, Konstantinos. The persecution of the best elements of society. Athens: Hilektron publications, 2013. Print.
3. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Aristides the Just” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 15 November. 2016.

Euclid of Alexandria

Mathematician (c.300 BC)

The most famous and prominent mathematician of antiquity and the Father of Geometry, Euclid lived and flourished in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I. He worked in the Library of Alexandria, which at the time was the world’s most illustrious scientific and cultural center next to the Academy. Euclid compiled all of the then known geometry into one treatise, the Elements, which is considered as the most important book on geometry ever written.

The Elements is considered Euclid’s greatest contribution to humanity. It is an encyclopaedia of geometry consisting of 13 books. Except from containing all of the geometric theorems discovered until the time of Euclid, the treatise completes the works of Theaetetus and Eudoxus and includes many original works by Euclid. The first 6 books are dedicated to elementary geometry. Books 7, 8 and 9 are about arithmetic geometry and the theory of numbers. The tenth is about asymmetry, a major issue in the Ancient Greek mathematics. The last 3 tomes are dedicated to stereometry and to Platonic solids.

The entire treatise is based on 5 axioms, on which geometry was based on for more than 2000 years. There had been other compilations of geometry prior to Euclid’s Elements, such as by Hippocrates of Chios. However, Euclid was the first who succeeded in publishing such a treatise with strict and organized formulations. Euclid’s Elements served as the primary textbook of mathematics, and in particular geometry, worldwide, from the time of its publication until the 20^th century when non-Euclidean geometry emerged.

Other works of Euclid include Data, which contains applications and inclusions of the theories from Elements, On Divisions of Figures, a book that was found during the 16^th century in Latin. In it, Euclid discusses sections of geometric shapes. Porisms consisted of 3 books. It dealt with theories and problems in geometry. On Conic Sections, which also does not survive, contained works on the conic sections, largely inspired from the homonymous work of Apollonius of Perga. Another one of Euclid’s lost books is Pseudaria, which was intended for students regarding errors of mathematical solutions. Other important works include a book on astronomy called Phenomena and multiple books on physics and mechanics such as Optics and Catoptrics, On the Heavy and the Light, Mechanics and Introduction to Harmonics.

Euclid’s profound influence in mathematics, especially geometry, has made his magnum opus Elements one of the most published books in history. During the Renaissance, there had been more than 2000 publications in various European languages and today, it has been translated into all European languages. To date, England is the only country where in gymnasiums geometry is studied completely from the Elements. Euclid indeed, as his name suggests, was glorious.

Bibliography

1. Euclidis o Aleksandreus. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Georgakopoulos, Konstantinos. Ancient Greek Scientists. Georgiades, Athens: 1995. Print.
3. Koutoulas, Diamantis. The Ancient Greek Religion and the Mathematics. Dion Publications, Thessaloniki: 2001. Print.

Diogenes Laërtius

Philosopher, Writer (3^rd century)

The most important biographer of the Ancient Greek philosophers was Diogenes Laërtius, who lived and flourished most probably during the 3^rd century AD. His book Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, comprised of 10 books provides some of the most valuable information on the development and history of the philosophy of more than 70 philosophers and is one of the most significant sources worldwide for the study of Greek philosophy. Strangely, he is one of the very few, if not, the only Ancient Greek writer whose work has survived completely.

Diogenes never belonged to any philosophic School. Instead, by working independently he dedicated his research mostly on the philologic part of philosophy, studying the lives of the philosophers, writing down events concerning their lives, personal facts and sayings.

The proemium of the book contains a description on the foundations of philosophy as laid by the Greeks themselves, not by the Persian magi, the Chaldeans, the Druids or the Indians as misconceived. The first book is dedicated to the Seven Sages (which are 11 in number). The second contains Socrates with his predecessors and some of his followers up until Menedemus. The third book is entirely devoted to Plato alone. The fourth features the philosophers who succeeded Plato in the Academy while the fifth contains Aristotle and the Peripatetics. The sixth is about the Cynic School, the seventh about the Stoics and the eighth about the Pythagoreans. The ninth book contains all those philosophers who are uncategorized such as the Eleatics, the Atomists and the Skeptics. The final book is entirely devoted to Epicurus and the Epicurean philosophy.

Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers has been marked for its subjective character and reliability, but also for some of its minor inconsistencies. Except from being a valuable tool for studying not only the lives but also the doctrines and ideas of eminent philosophers, the book is quite entertaining to read because of it being a conglomeration of amusing stories and Diogenes’ own poetic narrative.

Bibliography

1. “Diogenes Laertius”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Diogenes Laertius (3rd cn. C.E.). Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Iep.utm.edu. Web. Retrieved on November 4, 2016.