Ariston (Plato)

Ariston (Ἀρίστων Arístōn , also called Ariston of Athens or Ariston of Kollytos ; * probably around 470/460 BC; † around 424 BC) was the father of the philosopher Plato .

Origin and family relationships

Ariston came from a distinguished, wealthy Athens family . He considered himself a descendant of Kodros , a mythical king of Athens. His father was called Aristocles; one of his ancestors, who also bore the name Aristocles, was already 605/604 BC. Chr. Eponymous Archon been so had held the highest public office. However, Ariston himself does not seem to have played a role in the Athenian politics of his time.

Around 432 Ariston married Periktione , who also came from a noble Athens family. Her ancestors included the eponymous archons Dropides (I.) , who held office in 645/644, and Dropides (II.) , Who presumably held office in 593/592.

The historian of philosophy Diogenes Laertios reports in his description of Plato's life, referring to Favorinos , that Ariston belonged to the Athenian clergy (settlers) who were sent to the island of Aigina , south of Attica . According to this tradition, Plato was born on Aegina. However, the clergy were later expelled from there by the Spartans , and so Ariston returned to Athens. The Prolegomena on Plato's philosophy , an anonymously handed down work from late antiquity , whose unknown author belongs to the school of Olympiodoros the Younger , also report on the alleged birth on Aegina. In fact, in 431 the Athenians forced the residents of Aigina to emigrate and settled clergy there. The Spartans did not expel the Athenian settlers during Ariston's lifetime; it did not take place until 411. Thus the report is inaccurate, at least with regard to the expulsion. Besides, Ariston was wealthy; emigration to Aegina is only plausible in the event of temporary impoverishment. The credibility of the message is therefore doubtful. However, it cannot be ruled out that Ariston lived temporarily on Aegina. What is certain is that Plato grew up in Athens. The family's residence there was in the centrally located Kollytos district to the west and south of the Acropolis .

From the marriage of Ariston and Periktione, in addition to Plato, the sons Adeimantos and Glaucon and a daughter named Potone emerged. Potone's son Speusippus succeeded Plato as scholarch (head) of the Platonic Academy .

Ariston died around 424, when Plato was just a four-year-old child. Soon after, his widow Periktione entered into a second marriage with the also widowed Pyrilampes , who thus became the stepfather of the children of Ariston. They now lived with their older stepbrother Demos , a son of Pyrilampes from his first marriage, and grew up with their half-brother Antiphon , the son of Pyrilampes and Periktione.

Legend

According to a legend widespread in antiquity and told soon after Plato's death, Plato was only apparently Ariston's son; It was said that in reality the god Apollo had begotten him. According to the different versions of the legend, Apollon temporarily prevented Ariston from sexual intercourse with perictions and expressly forbade him to do so for the period in question, or Ariston drew a corresponding conclusion from an apparition of the god. Diogenes Laertios names three authors, including Speusippus, who mentioned the legend in their now-lost works. He does not claim, however, that these authors vouched for the literal truth of the claim; Especially the well-informed Speusippus, the oldest source, is to assume an allegorical understanding of the legend (emphasis on a lifelong special relationship between Plato and Apollo).

literature

• Debra Nails: The People of Plato. A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics . Hackett, Indianapolis 2002, ISBN 0-87220-564-9 , pp. 53f. (and family tree p. 244)
• John S. Traill: Persons of Ancient Athens , Volume 3: Art to Aulōn . Athenians, Toronto 1995, ISBN 0-9692686-4-5 , pp. 131f. (No. 201000; compilation of the documents)

Remarks

1. ↑ Diogenes Laertios 3.1.
2. ↑ Debra Nails: The People of Plato , Indianapolis 2002, pp. 53, 106-108, 229, 244.
3. ↑ Diogenes Laertios 3,3 (= Favorinus fragment 69 Amato = fragment 32 Mensching = fragment 64 Barigazzi).
4. ↑ Prolegomena to the Philosophy of Plato 2, ed. von Leendert G. Westerink : Prolégomènes à la philosophie de Platon , Paris 1990, p. 3.
5. ^ Debra Nails: The People of Plato. A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics , Indianapolis 2002, p. 54.
6. ↑ Eckart Mensching (ed.): Favorin von Arelate: The first part of the fragments. Memorabilia and Omnigena Historia , Berlin 1963, pp. 118f. and note 38.
7. ↑ Adelmo BARIGAZZI (ed.): Favorino di Arelate: Opere , Firenze 1966, p 226; Debra Nails: The People of Plato. A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics , Indianapolis 2002, p. 54. Cf. Eugenio Amato (ed.): Favorinos d'Arles: Œuvres , Vol. 3, Paris 2010, p. 314.Skeptics are Alice Swift Riginos: Platonica , Leiden 1976, p. 33f. and Luc Brisson : Diogène Laërce, 'Vies et doctrines des philosophes illustres', Livre III: Structure et contenu . In: Rise and Fall of the Roman World , Part II, Volume 36.5, Berlin 1992, pp. 3619–3760, here: 3633f.
8. ↑ Debra Nails: The People of Plato , Indianapolis 2002, pp. 244, 254.
9. ↑ Debra Nails: The People of Plato , Indianapolis 2002, pp. 31, 53f., 229, 258.
10. ↑ Diogenes Laertios 3.2. For the background, see Heinrich Dörrie , Matthias Baltes : Der Platonismus in der Antike , Vol. 2, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 1990, pp. 150–157 (compilation of the evidence) and pp. 404–414 (commentary); Leonardo Tarán: Speusippus of Athens , Leiden 1981, pp. 228-235; Christina Schefer: Platon and Apollon , Sankt Augustin 1996, pp. 269–286, 289–292; Michael Erler : Platon (= Hellmut Flashar (Hrsg.): Outline of the history of philosophy . The philosophy of antiquity , Volume 2/2), Basel 2007, p. 43f .; Alice Swift Riginos: Platonica , Leiden 1976, pp. 9-15; Luc Brisson: Diogène Laërce, 'Vies et doctrines des philosophes illustres', Livre III: Structure et contenu . In: Rise and Fall of the Roman World , Part II, Volume 36.5, Berlin 1992, pp. 3619–3760, here: 3629–3631.