Bion of Borysthenes

Bion von Borysthenes ( Greek Βίων Βορυσθενίτης Bíōn Borysthenítēs ; * probably around 335 BC in Olbia ; † before 252 BC in Chalkis ) was an ancient Greek philosopher . He is assigned to the school of cynicism .

Bion's writings are lost. Only ancient reports about his life and teaching are preserved.

Life

The exact dates of Bion's life are unknown. According to ancient sources, it is believed that it was around 335 BC. Born before 252 BC. Died.

In the 3rd century Diogenes Laertios wrote down some (today doubted) information about Bion's biography, which he puts into his mouth himself. Accordingly, he was the son of a released fishmonger and a prostitute. His father embezzled customs duties, whereupon Bion and his family are said to have been sold as a slave. A rhetorician bought him as a pleasure boy and bequeathed all of his possessions to him when he died. Bion immediately turned away from rhetoric and turned to philosophy and moved to Athens .

Presumably Bion is around 314 BC. Came to Athens, where he became a pupil of Xenocrates , the Krates of Athens and the Crane of Soloi at the Platonic Academy . Probably from about 310 BC. In addition, he became a student of Theodorus of Cyrene and the Peripatetic Theophrastus of Eresus . Bion later turned to Cynic philosophy, whether he also had a Cynic teacher is unknown. As a cynic, he led the life of a traveling teacher who earned money through teaching , which is why he was sometimes referred to as a sophist . The majority of Bion's character and person are rated negatively in the certificates received.

Bion was in closer contact with the Macedonian king Antigonos Gonatas , who made him 276 BC. Called to Pella and later supported him when he was dying in Chalkis.

Fonts

After Diogenes Laertios, Bion wrote numerous writings. Various authors use the following titles as titles: About slavery , About anger and sayings . Bion's writings were and are known not so much for their content as for their literary style. He founded a certain form of philosophical moral sermon, which was usually short and in the colloquial language and was characterized, for example, by decorations, anecdotes, quotations and hearty expressions. Today the term diatribe is used to denote it .

Teaching

Although Bion is never referred to as a cynic in the sources (but twice as a peripatetic, Diogenes Laertios, in turn, deals with him within the framework of the academics), the history of philosophy counts him among the cynics based on the traditional content of his teaching. Like Metrokles , he is considered a representative of a weakened, mild cynicism. For example, in contrast to the older Cynics, both of them do not speak out against wealth in principle. According to Bion, the reasonable person sees that it is best to accept things as they are and not constantly quarrel with them. So it doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor, slave or king, but rather how to deal with your current situation. It also makes no sense to constantly strive for more or to be afraid for what you have. Whoever follows these views is independent, nothing and no one can harm someone like that.

Like other Cynics, Bion was critical of traditional religious beliefs. Like Diogenes of Sinope , he found traditional education superfluous. Rhetoric, grammar, astronomy, music and geometry are mentioned.

Source collections and text editions

expenditure

• Jan Frederik Kindstrand: Bion of Borysthenes. A Collection of the Fragments with Introduction and Commentary (= Studia Graeca Upsaliensia 11). Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Uppsala 1976, ISBN 91-554-0486-3

Translations

• Georg Luck (ed.): The wisdom of dogs. Texts of the ancient Cynics in German translation with explanations (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 484). Kröner, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-520-48401-3 , pp. 233-250.

literature

• Klaus Döring : Bion from Borysthenes. In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy . The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, ISBN 3-7965-1036-1 , pp. 306-310
• Michael Erler : The Cynics. In: Bernhard Zimmermann , Antonios Rengakos (Hrsg.): Handbook of the Greek literature of antiquity. Volume 2: The Literature of the Classical and Hellenistic Period. CH Beck, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-406-61818-5 , pp. 302-311, here: 306 f.
• Jan Frederik Kindstrand: Bion de Borysthène. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Volume 2, CNRS Éditions, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-271-05195-9 , pp. 108-112
• Hans von Arnim : Bion 10 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 1, Stuttgart 1897, Col. 483-485 (outdated).

Remarks

1. ^ Klaus Döring: Bion from Borysthenes. In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, p. 306. Jan Frederik Kindstrand: Bion of Borysthenes. A Collection of the Fragments with Introduction and Commentary. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Uppsala 1976, pp. 5-6 tries to narrow down the year of death more precisely.
2. ↑ See Diogenes Laertios: Life and teachings of famous philosophers. 4, 46-47.
3. ↑ Cf. Diogenes Laertios: Life and teachings of famous philosophers 4, 53–54; John Stobaios 2:31 , 97.
4. ^ Klaus Döring: Bion from Borysthenes. In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 306-307.
5. ^ Klaus Döring: Bion from Borysthenes. In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, p. 308.
6. ^ Klaus Döring: Bion from Borysthenes. In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 309-310.
7. ^ Klaus Döring: Bion from Borysthenes. In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, p. 309.