Damo

Damo is mentioned in ancient sources as the daughter of the philosopher Pythagoras of Samos and his wife Theano . Accordingly, their lifetime would have to go into the late 6th and 5th centuries BC. Fall. However, there are strong doubts about their existence.

The oldest source that mentions Damos name is the "Lysis Letter", one of the pseudepigraphs (attributed to false authors) alleged Pythagorean letters that were widespread in the Roman Empire. In the fictional letter, the alleged author, the Pythagorean Lysis , laments the publication of philosophical teachings that he believes should be treated as confidential. He claims that Pythagoras entrusted his notes to his daughter Damo and instructed her to make the contents only available to family members. Damo stuck to it, even though passing it on would have brought her a lot of money; later she in turn left the writings of her daughter Bistala with the same commission. This is in contradiction to another tradition, according to which Pythagoras did not write any scriptures. The lysis letter was probably invented specifically to give credibility to a work falsified under Pythagoras' name.

The doxographer Diogenes Laertios cites the lysis letter, citing the passage with the mention of Damos. The Neo-Platonist and Neo-Pythagorean Iamblichus of Chalkis also relies on the tradition that originated from the Lysis Letter; it offers a somewhat expanded version of the report.

A historical core of the legendary tradition is likely to consist in the fact that women apparently played a relatively prominent role for the Pythagoreans at the time and emerged as philosophers.

literature

Bruno Centrone: Damô. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Volume 2, CNRS, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-271-05195-9 , p. 599

Remarks

↑ Lysis to Hipparchus , ed. Alfons Städele: The letters of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans. Meisenheim am Glan 1980, p. 158 (and commentary p. 210f.).
^ Charles H. Kahn: Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans. A brief history. Indianapolis 2001, pp. 75f.
^ Iamblichus, On the Pythagorean Life 146.

personal data
SURNAME	Damo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	ancient Greek philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH	6th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	5th century BC Chr.

[1] Lysis to Hipparchus , ed. Alfons Städele: The letters of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans. Meisenheim am Glan 1980, p. 158 (and commentary p. 210f.).

[2] Charles H. Kahn: Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans. A brief history. Indianapolis 2001, pp. 75f.

[3] Iamblichus, On the Pythagorean Life 146.