Phaedo of Elis

Phaedo of Elis ( ancient Greek Φαίδων Phaídōn , Latinized Phaedon Elidensis ; * around 417 BC in Elis ; † in the 4th century BC) was a Greek philosopher of antiquity . He is considered to be the founder of a school called the "Elish School" after his place of residence; one also speaks of the Elish-Eretrian school , but it is doubtful whether it is actually an independent schooling that goes back to Phaedo.

Around 400 BC Phaedo came to Athens and became a student of Socrates for a short time . His writings are lost; Only two short excerpts and a few testimony (ancient reports on life and teaching) have been preserved.

Lore

The oldest source to Phaidon's Plato named after him dialogue Phaedo . Diogenes Laertios and other ancient authors as well as the Suda provide further information . Two fragments from Phaedo’s writings have come down to us from Seneca and Theon of Alexandria .

Life

The dates of Phaedo are unknown. A passage in Plato suggests, however, that he was in 399 BC. Was still under 20 years old. According to Diogenes Laertios, he came from a noble family and was sold to Athens as a brothel slave after the conquest of Elis (probably 402 to 400 BC by Sparta ). There he is said to have made the acquaintance of Socrates, who had him ransomed by a third party. Whether all of this is true is questionable. According to Plato, Phaedo was among Socrates' friends who met him in 399 BC. Accompanied during his last hours.

Besides Moschos and Menedemus of Eretria, little-known people are mentioned as students or later successors of Phaedo, namely Anchipylos, Pleistanos, Asklepiades of Phleius and Ktesibios of Chalkis .

Teaching

Diogenes Laertios names two titles of dialogues Phaedo, Zopyros and Simon . He may have written other dialogues, so Diogenes Laertios names three more, the authenticity of which, however, was controversial even then, which Suda did not mention three in Diogenes Laertios.

In a short excerpt from Zopyros' dialogue that has survived , a philosophically worthless, heartbreaking story is told of a Persian king's son and his relationship with a loyal lion. The name was probably given to a doctor named Zopyros, who probably met Socrates in a dialogue and tried to read off his character traits from his physiognomic properties. Names factor for dialogue Simon was perhaps one mentioned by other ancient authors Schuster Simon.

Seneca quotes Phaedo, who was probably thinking of men like Socrates, as follows: “Certain small animals bite without being noticed; so weak is its strength and so much does it hide its danger. Only a lump indicates the bite, and even in the lump there is no visible wound. The same thing happens to you in conversation with wise men: you do not notice how or when it is of use to you; but you can tell that it was of use to you. "

There is hardly anything useful about the teaching of Phaedo to be found in Plato's dialogue, Phaedo. Athenaios also reports that Phaedo declared that he had neither said nor heard of what was reported there.

Source collections

Gabriele Giannantoni (Ed.): Socratis et Socraticorum Reliquiae , Volume 1, Bibliopolis, Naples 1990, ISBN 88-7088-215-2 , pp. 487-494 (critical edition without translation; online )

literature

Klaus Döring : Phaidon from Elis and Menedemos from Eretria . 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. 238–245
Michael Erler : Phaidon and Menedemos. 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 , p. 296 f.
Robert Muller: Phédon d'Élis . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 5, Part 1, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-271-07335-8 , pp. 279–285

Remarks

↑ ^a ^b Klaus Döring: Phaidon from Elis . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity , Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 238–245, here: p. 238.
^ Plato, Phaedo 89b.
^ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 2,105.
↑ ^a ^b Klaus Döring: Phaidon from Elis . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity , Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 238–245, here: p. 239.
↑ Theon of Alexandria, Progymnasmata 3.75.2-3.75.9.
↑ See Cicero, De fato 10; Tusculanae disputationes 4.80.
↑ The whole paragraph follows Klaus Döring: Phaidon from Elis . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity , Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 238–245, here: pp. 239–240.
↑ Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium 94.41.
↑ Athenaios, Deipnosophistai 11.505e.

personal data
SURNAME	Phaedo of Elis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	ancient philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH	around 417 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH	Elis
DATE OF DEATH	4th century BC Chr.

[GGPh238-1] Klaus Döring: Phaidon from Elis . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity , Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 238–245, here: p. 238.

[2] Plato, Phaedo 89b.

[3] Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 2,105.

[GGPh239-4] Klaus Döring: Phaidon from Elis . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity , Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 238–245, here: p. 239.

[5] Theon of Alexandria, Progymnasmata 3.75.2-3.75.9.

[6] See Cicero, De fato 10; Tusculanae disputationes 4.80.

[7] The whole paragraph follows Klaus Döring: Phaidon from Elis . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity , Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 238–245, here: pp. 239–240.

[8] Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium 94.41.

[9] Athenaios, Deipnosophistai 11.505e.