Polemon of Athens

Polemon of Athens ( Greek Πολέμων Polémōn ; * around 350 BC; † probably 270/269 BC in Athens ) was an ancient Greek philosopher . He was a Platonist and, as a scholarch, headed the Platonic Academy in Athens for decades .

Life

Polemon came from a wealthy Athens family. His father Philostratus was a respected citizen and owned a racing stable. As a youth, Polemon is said to have been wasteful and dissolute; Antigonus of Karystos reports that his wife has even sued him for this.

According to a legendary anecdote, one day Polemon came to the academy wearing a wreath and drunk. Its director at the time, Xenocrates , a pupil of Plato , did not allow himself to be distracted from the lessons, but continued his lecture, which dealt with the virtue of moderation . Polemon is said to have been so impressed that he radically changed his life, opted for a philosophical way of life and began to take part in the work at the academy. He was thirty years old then. Xenocrates became his model. Soon he stood out for his diligence and distinguished himself in such a way that after Xenocrates' death in 314 or 313 he assumed the office of scholarchen. He headed the academy until his death, which probably occurred in 270/269, i.e. for more than four decades.

Polemon was praised for his poise, serious, dignified demeanor and noble disposition. Although he did not leave the premises of the academy where he lived and taught and did not endeavor to popularize philosophy, he also enjoyed a high reputation in the city. Anecdotes circulated about his self-control and his equanimity. Even when performing tragedies and at a poetry reading, he showed no excitement, which was unusual and noticeable at the time. He died of old age.

Works and teaching

Polemon is said to have authored a considerable number of writings. All but fragments have been lost, and with one exception - a treatise "On Living Naturally" - not even their titles are known.

The focus of his attention was the philosophical lifestyle. The doxographer Diogenes Laertios , who relies on information from the biographer Antigonus of Karystos, reports that Polemon has often expressed his conviction that a philosopher should exercise himself through his deeds, because one's own life practice is more important than knowledge of theories. Otherwise you are like someone who learns harmony by heart but never makes music. Skilful discussion can arouse admiration, but cannot overcome the inner conflict in one's own mind, since theory and practice diverge. The emphasis on practice did not mean, however, that Polemon fundamentally turned away from dialectics and philosophical theory; he only disapproved of a one-sided emphasis on the art of debate, which becomes an end in itself rather than affecting life.

A central role in Polemon's ethics is played by the demand for a natural, i.e. H. life corresponding to human nature. The nature of man emerges in the activities in which the virtue of the soul is expressed. Eudaimonia , the optimal state of mind, results from acting in accordance with virtue; External goods are not a necessary prerequisite for this. In the context of his understanding of the natural, Polemon speaks out against meat nutrition.

Polemon identifies the cosmos with the deity; he therefore advocates a theology based on the immanence of the deity.

reception

The closest of Polemon's students was Krates ; the two Platonists were close friends and lived together. Krates succeeded him as Scholarch. Other students were Krantor , who died before Polemon, as well as Zeno von Kition , the founder of the Stoa , and Ariston von Chios , who later also became a prominent Stoic. Polemon's commitment to the primacy of a natural, virtuous lifestyle over mere endeavors to think and debates and his ideal of unshakable equanimity became core elements of the stoic attitude. The stoic ethics emerged from the examination of his doctrine of the natural life. The famous Stoic Chrysippos of Soloi praised Polemon's achievements in the field of dialectics.

The later scholarch Arkesilaos , who still lived through Polemon and Krates, said that the two philosophers appeared to him like gods or relics from the Golden Age . This remark was also intended as a cautious criticism; Arkesilaos indicated that Polemon had lost touch with the present and, with his seclusion, refrained from bringing Platonism to a wider public.

Cicero reports that the philosopher Antiochus of Ashkelon particularly valued Polemon.

The story of Polemon's conversion to philosophy was taken up several times in ancient literature. The legendary episode served as a prime example of a fundamental change of heart of a young person who had gone astray and who, thanks to the encounter with an exemplary philosophical teacher, decided to turn back. The authors who referred to the story include Horace , Plutarch , Epictetus , Lucian , Fronto , Origen , Themistios , Gregory of Nazianzen, and Augustine . Valerius Maximus included a version of the story in his Facta et dicta memorabilia .

expenditure

• Marcello Gigante (ed.): I frammenti di Polemone academico . In: Rendiconti della Accademia di Archeologia, Lettere e Belle Arti (Napoli), NS Vol. 51 (1976), 1977, pp. 91-144

literature

• John Dillon : The Heirs of Plato. A Study of the Old Academy (347-274 BC). Clarendon Press, Oxford 2003, ISBN 0-19-927946-2 , pp. 156-177
• Hans Krämer : The late phase of the older academy . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy . The philosophy of antiquity , Vol. 3: Older Academy - Aristoteles - Peripatos , 2nd edition, Schwabe, Basel 2004, ISBN 3-7965-1998-9 , pp. 113, 115–122, 161–163
• Inna Kupreeva: Polémon d'Athènes . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 5, Part 2, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-271-07399-0 , pp. 1190–1194

Remarks

1. ↑ On this process see Tiziano Dorandi (Ed.): Filodemo: Storia dei filosofi. Platone e l'Academia (PHerc. 1021 e 164) , Napoli 1991, p. 53 f.
2. ↑ Olof Gigon : Ancient stories about the calling to philosophy . In: Museum Helveticum . Vol. 3, 1946, pp. 1–21, here: 19 f. ( doi : 10.5169 / seals-5264 ).
3. ↑ For the dating see Tiziano Dorandi: Ricerche sulla cronologia dei filosofi ellenistici , Stuttgart 1991, pp. 3–6; Carl Werner Müller : The Archonate of Philocrates and the Chronology of the Hellenistic Academy . In: Rheinisches Museum für Philologie , New Series Vol. 146, 2003, pp. 1–9, here: 8 ( PDF online ).
4. ^ John Dillon: The Heirs of Plato , Oxford 2003, p. 166 f.
5. ↑ The relevant sources have been compiled and commented on by Heinrich Dörrie : Der Platonismus in der Antike , Vol. 1: The historical roots of Platonism , Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 1987, pp. 94-101, 319-326.
6. ↑ Heinrich Dörrie: The Platonism in antike , Vol. 1: The historical roots of Platonism , Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 1987, pp. 166–169, 430–433.
7. ↑ Cicero, Lucullus 131; see Heinrich Dörrie: Der Platonismus in der Antike , Vol. 1: The historical roots of Platonism , Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 1987, pp. 96 f., 321 f.
8. ↑ On the reception of the conversion story, see Marcello Marin: Alipio e la topica della conversione (Conf. VI, 7, 11-12) . In: Augustinianum Vol. 43, 2003, pp. 435–452, here: 438 ff.