Arete of Cyrene

Arete of Cyrene ( Greek Ἀρήτη Arḗtē ; * around 400 BC ; † around 330 BC ) was an ancient Greek philosopher . She belonged to the direction of the Cyrenaics .

The father Aretes was the philosopher and founder of the Cyrenean school Aristippus of Cyrene , her son was the philosopher Aristippus the younger . Arete was tutored by her father and followed him as head of the school. She herself was the teacher of her son Aristippus the Younger. Her writings are lost, and testimony to her life and doctrine are also rare. Information can be found among others in Diogenes Laertios , Eusebius of Caesarea , Clemens of Alexandria , Theodoret , Themistios , Aelian and Strabo . What has been preserved is a letter that her father Aristippus allegedly wrote to her on her deathbed. Presumably it is not authentic, but the author may have used a really written letter as a template.

Arete is said to have taught natural and moral philosophy in Attic schools and academies for 35 years , written 40 books and had 110 students. Books about agriculture of the ancients, about the miracles of Mount Olympus, about beekeeping, about raising children, about the complaints of aging, about the wars of the Athenians, about the life of Socrates etc. are attributed to her. Nothing of the books has survived, however, so the information is not reliable. The author of this information is possibly John Augustine Zahm .

Source collection

Gabriele Giannantoni (Ed.): Socratis et Socraticorum Reliquiae , Volume 2, Bibliopolis, Naples 1990, Section IV-B ( online )

literature

Françoise Caujolle-Zaslawsky: Arétè de Cyrène. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Volume 1, CNRS, Paris 1989, ISBN 2-222-04042-6 , pp. 349-350
Paul Natorp : Arete 3 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, Col. 678.
Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie : Women in science: antiquity through the nineteenth century. A biographical dictionary with annotated bibliography . 3. Edition. MIT Press, Cambridge (Massachusetts) 1991, ISBN 0-262-65038-X , p. 31

Remarks

↑ documents when Françoise Caujolle-Zaslavsky: Arete de Cyrene. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume 1, Paris 1989, p. 349 f., Here: 349.
↑ Bernhard Kytzler : Women of antiquity. From Aspasia to Zenobia. Artemis, Munich & Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-7608-1224-4 , p. 27.
↑ Renate Strohmeier: Lexicon of the natural scientists and women of Europe. From antiquity to the 20th century . Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 1998, ISBN 3-8171-1567-9 , p. 25-26 .

personal data
SURNAME	Arete of Cyrene
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Greek philosopher, is considered the first ever female philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH	around 400 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	around 330 BC Chr.

[1] uments when Françoise Caujolle-Zaslavsky: Arete de Cyrene. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume 1, Paris 1989, p. 349 f., Here: 349.

[2] Bernhard Kytzler : Women of antiquity. From Aspasia to Zenobia. Artemis, Munich & Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-7608-1224-4 , p. 27.

[3] Renate Strohmeier: Lexicon of the natural scientists and women of Europe. From antiquity to the 20th century . Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 1998, ISBN 3-8171-1567-9 , p. 25-26 .