Women Philosophers

Women Philosophers of Ancient Times

Hypatia of Alexandria · Home · Introduction · Ancient Women · The Middle Ages · The Renaissance · Bibliography · Links to More Women of Interest

Themistoclea Ancient sources point to women as active participants, playing a central role in the development of early Pythagorean philosophy. Pythagoras produced a school of philosophy that was religious and mystical and the Pythagoreans made important contributions to mathematics, musical theory, and astronomy. What is not commonly known however is that there exists a record that Pythagoras acquired the greater part of his ethical doctrines from Themistoclea, the Priestess of Delphi, and that what he taught he had heard from her.

Theano of Crotona Theano of Crotona, the wife of Pythagoras, was a member (along with her three daughters) of the original Pythagorean cult. There is a document attributed to Theano in which she discusses metaphysics, and there are

records of her many written works in which she expresses her views on marriage, sex, women, and ethics. Upon the death of Pythagoras, Theano, alongside her two sons, became the director of the Pythagorean school.

Diotima of Mantinea In his work Symposium, Plato named Diotima of Mantinea as Socrates’s mentor. It has been the assumption of contemporary historians that Diotima was a fictional character. However, there is credible evidence that she in truth existed. The origin of the suggestion that she was fictional has been traced to a 15th century Humanist, and until that time it had been accepted by historians that Diotima had undeniably existed.

Aspasia of Miletus Aspasia of Miletus was an influential intellectual, active in the inner circles of ancient political and intellectual life at the time of Plato. She was a leading member of the Periclean circle, and thus, with others, a co-architect of the Sophistic movement. Pericles, the powerful and popular leader of Athens, sought her out as first his mistress, and then his wife. She was considered very knowledgeable about matters of state and she taught rhetoric to Pericles. Philosophers of her time called her brilliant and renowned, the "mistress of eloquence." Socrates and his friends visited her often while she taught him rhetoric and philosophy. At one point, Aspasia was tried for impiety and acquitted after Paricles came to her defense. She died in 401 BC and today is memorialized in a fresco over the portal of the University of Athens in Greece.

Aesara of Lucania Aesara of Lucania was a late Pythagorean (the late Pythagoreans existed roughly between 425 BC and 100 AD) who applied the normative principle of harmonia. Harmonia is the principle "of all the things that are," including geometry, arithmetic, music, and the cosmos. With ethics grounded in pragmatism, Aesara wrote The Book on Human Nature, which presented an intuitive natural law theory. She argued that by analyzing the nature of the soul we

will understand the nature of law and of justice at the individual, familial, and social levels. Aesara showed that harmonia is the principle of law, justice, and human psychology.

Phyntis of Sparta Phyntis of Sparta wrote On the Moderation of Women.

Perictione 1 Perictione 1 (who some historians believe was Plato’s mother) wrote On the Harmony of Women.

Theano II Theano II, another late Pythagorean philosopher, raised the question of whether it was an individual’s responsibility to live one’s life according to whichever moral theory best takes into account one’s special circumstances. She showed that harmonia is the principle underlying human moral psychology and education.

Hypatia of Alexandria Hypatia of Alexandria lived in Alexandria, the capital of Egypt, in the 4th century AD. Alexandria at that time was the literary and scientific center of the world, containing numerous palaces, the Alexandrian Library and Museum, influential schools of philosophy, rhetoric, and other branches of learning. Hypatia was Alexandria’s most eminent neo-platonic philosopher and mathematician. She was renowned before the age of 30, in intellectual communities from as far away as Libya and Turkey. This was a time of great social and religious turmoil as the Christians gained strength in the region. The emperor forbade pagan cult practices in Egypt and rioting broke out between the Christians and the pagans. While the Roman Christian government persecuted Jews and Pagans, the government honored Hypatia with an unprecedented, paid, public position as the head of the neo-platonic school of Plotinus. This was all the more significant because the government of Alexandria was Christian and Hypatia was a pagan. She headed the

prestigious institution for 15 years as students, both male and female, traveled from afar to study under her. She taught geometry, mathematics, the works of Plato, Aristotle, neo-Platonism, astronomy, and mechanics. Hypatia met an early and gruesome death at the hands of a mob of monks who pulled her from her chariot, drug her into a church, stripped her of her clothing, hacked her body to pieces with sharp shells, then took her dismembered body to another location and burned it. Unfortunately, although Hypatia was known as the greatest philosopher of her day, her teachings and writings were virtually ignored by historians of philosophy for almost 1500 years.

Asclepigenia of Athens Asclepigenia of Athens was a younger contemporary of Hypatia. Asclepigenia taught in the neo-Platonic school in Athens, which was headed by her father. As a Pagan philosopher, she attempted to understand and master the "secret" principles of metaphysics which controlled the universe. Asclepigenia applied magic and theurgic principles to affect fate and she applied her knowledge of Plato and Aristotle to the great religious and metaphysical questions raised by Christian ethical theory. She believed that fates were potentially changeable if one had a clear understanding of metaphysics, cosmology, magic, and theurgy. She tended more toward mysticism, magic, and contemplation of the mysteries of Platonic and Aristotelian metaphysics. Upon the death of her father, Asclepigenia, along with her brother and a colleague, inherited the direction of the Academy, and her most famous student was the philosopher, Proclus.

Arete of Cyrene Arete of Cyrene was the daughter of Aristipuss, a student and friend of Socrates, who was also present at Socrates’s death. Aristipuss founded and headed the Cyrenaic school in Cyrene, which is now northeastern Libya. The school was one of the earliest proponents of hedonism, and after his death Arete succeeded him as the

head of the school. She taught natural and moral philosophy for 30 years, wrote 40 books, and counted among her pupils 110 philosophers. She was held in such high regard that upon her death her countrymen inscribed on her tomb an epitaph that declared she was the splendor of Greece and possessed the beauty of Helen, the virtue of Thirma, the pen of Aristippus, the soul of Socrates, and the tongue of Homer.

Julia Domna During the 3rd century AD Julia Domna was a Syrian girl, who at the age of 17 years, married 41 or 42- year- old Septimius Severus. Septimius later became the emperor of Rome and Julia became an empress. Although no philosophical writing has been attributed to her, she surrounded herself with sophist philosophers. She became famous for her "circle" of philosophers, studying with them, discussing with them, and, using her imperial powers, she protected philosophy and helped it to flourish. Julia Domna became known as "the philosopher Julia".

Makrina In the 4th century AD a girl by the name of Makrina, living in a Roman province, survived, along with her family, persecution by the Christians by hiding themselves in the wilderness for 7 years. Makrina’s paternal grandmother, Makrina the Older, had been famous as a pupil of Christian religion and Greek philosophy. Makrina lived an ascetic life on the family estate with her mother, former slave women, and other aristocratic lady-companions. She had a sharp mind for philosophical thinking, was well educated in Greek philosophy, and she occupied herself with philosophy most of her life. Her brother Gregory, who admired her greatly, wrote of a philosophical discussion he had with her at her death bed on the topic of the soul and the resurrection.