Arete of Cyrene
Encyclopedia
Arete of Cyrene was a Cyrenaic philosopher, and the daughter of Aristippus of Cyrene.
She learned philosophy from her father, Aristippus, who had himself learned philosophy from Socrates
. Arete, in turn, taught philosophy to her son - Aristippus the Younger
- hence her son was nicknamed "Mother-taught" . Arete is sometimes described as the successor of her father as head of the Cyrenaic school, but it may have been her son who formally founded the school.
Among the spurious Socratic epistles
(dating perhaps from the 1st century) there is a fictitious letter from Aristippus addressed to Arete. In this letter, Arete is represented as living a fairly prosperous life in Cyrene
. Aristippus tells her that "you still have two gardens, enough for a luxurious life; the property in Berenice
, even if it alone were left, would not fail to supply you with a very high standard of living." Aristippus suggests to her that, after his death, she should "go to Athens
, after you have given Aristippus [the Younger] the best possible education." He suggests that she should live with Xanthippe
and Myrto
, that she should regard Lamprocles
as if he were her own child, and that she should adopt "the daughter of Eubois whom you used to treat as though she were free." Above all he urges her "to care for little Aristippus so that he may be worthy of us and of philosophy; that is the real inheritance I leave him, for in the other aspects of his life he will have the officials in Cyrene as his enemies.
John Augustine Zahm
(writing under the pseudonym of Mozans), claimed that the 14th century scholar Giovanni Boccaccio
had access to some "early Greek writers," which allowed Boccaccio to give special praise to Arete "for the breadth and variety of her attainments":
She learned philosophy from her father, Aristippus, who had himself learned philosophy from Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
. Arete, in turn, taught philosophy to her son - Aristippus the Younger
Aristippus the Younger
Aristippus the Younger, of Cyrene, was the grandson of Aristippus of Cyrene, and is widely believed to have formalized the principles of Cyrenaic philosophy.He lived in the second half of the 4th century BC...
- hence her son was nicknamed "Mother-taught" . Arete is sometimes described as the successor of her father as head of the Cyrenaic school, but it may have been her son who formally founded the school.
Among the spurious Socratic epistles
Cynic epistles
The Cynic epistles are a collection of letters expounding the principles and practices of Cynic philosophy mostly written in the time of the Roman empire but purporting to have been written by much earlier philosophers....
(dating perhaps from the 1st century) there is a fictitious letter from Aristippus addressed to Arete. In this letter, Arete is represented as living a fairly prosperous life in Cyrene
Cyrene, Libya
Cyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
. Aristippus tells her that "you still have two gardens, enough for a luxurious life; the property in Berenice
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
, even if it alone were left, would not fail to supply you with a very high standard of living." Aristippus suggests to her that, after his death, she should "go to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, after you have given Aristippus [the Younger] the best possible education." He suggests that she should live with Xanthippe
Xanthippe
Xanthippe was the wife of Socrates and mother of their three sons: Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. There are far more stories about her than there are facts. She was likely much younger than Socrates, perhaps by as much as forty years.-Name:...
and Myrto
Myrto
Myrto was, according to some accounts, a wife of Socrates.The original source for the claim that she was Socrates' wife appears to have been a work by Aristotle called On Being Well-Born, although Plutarch expresses doubt that the work is genuine...
, that she should regard Lamprocles
Lamprocles
Lamprocles was Socrates' and Xanthippe's eldest son. His two brothers were Menexenus and Sophroniscus. Lamprocles was only a lad at the time of Socrates' trial and death...
as if he were her own child, and that she should adopt "the daughter of Eubois whom you used to treat as though she were free." Above all he urges her "to care for little Aristippus so that he may be worthy of us and of philosophy; that is the real inheritance I leave him, for in the other aspects of his life he will have the officials in Cyrene as his enemies.
John Augustine Zahm
John Augustine Zahm
Father John Augustine Zahm, CSC was a Holy Cross priest, author, scientist, and South American explorer. He was born at New Lexington, Ohio and died in Munich, Germany....
(writing under the pseudonym of Mozans), claimed that the 14th century scholar Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
had access to some "early Greek writers," which allowed Boccaccio to give special praise to Arete "for the breadth and variety of her attainments":
She is said to have publicly taught natural and moral philosophy in the schools and academies of AtticaAtticaAttica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
for thirty-five years, to have written forty books, and to have counted among her pupils one hundred and ten philosophers. She was so highly esteemed by her countrymen that they inscribed on her tomb an epitaphEpitaphAn epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
which declared that she was the splendour of GreeceAncient GreeceAncient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and possessed the beauty of Helen, the virtue of ThirmaPenelopeIn Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and is eventually reunited with him....
, the pen of Aristippus, the soul of Socrates and the tongue of HomerHomerIn the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
.