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There they founded a city, Abdera, which before this had been founded by Timesius of Clazomenae; yet he got no profit of it, but was driven out by the Thracians. This Timesius is now honored as a hero by the Teians of Abdera.
480 - 400
Leucippus (flourished about 450-370 BC) was probably born in Abdera. Virtually nothing is known of his life and none of his writings survive. He is, however, credited with founding the atomic theory of matter, later developed by his pupil, the Greek philosopher Democritus. According to this theory, all matter is constituted of identical indivisible particles called atoms.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Prefecture of Xanthi URL below.
Leucippus (fl.5th century BC)
Life Ancient philosopher and physicist, founder of the atomic theory. His
birthplace is variously given as Miletus, Abdera and Elea. The Epicureans doubted
his existence. Aristotle records that there was no essential difference between
the teachings of Leucippus and those of his disciple Democritus. The powerful
personality of the latter appears to overshadowed the former, and the disciple
has remained famous while the master is forgotten.
Leucippus lived in the 5th century BC and was a contemporary of Empedocles
and Anaxagoras. He is credited with two treatises, the "Great World System" (Megas
Diakosmos), the fundamental textbook of the atomist school, and the "On the mind".
While nothing definite is known of the second, a short account of the first has
survived.
This text is based on the Greek book "Ancient Greek Scientists", Athens, 1995 and is cited Dec 2003 from The Technology Museum of Thessaloniki URL below.
Leucippus (Leukippos), a Grecian philosopher, who is on all hands admitted to have been the founder of the atomic theory of the ancient philosophy. Where and when he was born we have no data for deciding. Miletus, Abdera, and Elis have been assigned as his birth-place; the first, apparently, for no other reason than that it was the birth-place of several natural philosophers; the second, because Democritus, who carried out his theory of atoms, came from that town; Elis, because he was looked upon as a disciple of the Eleatic school. The period when he lived is equally uncertain. He is called the teacher of Democritus (Diog. Laert. ix. 34), the disciple of Parmenides (Simplic. Phys. fol. 7, a), or, according to other accounts, of Zeno, of Melissus, nay even of Pythagoras (Simplic. l. c ; Diog. Laert. ix. 30; Tzetz. Chil. ii. 930; Iamblich. Vit. Pyth. 104). From the circumstance that Parmenides and Anaxagoras had objected to some doctrines which we find connected with the atomic theory, and from the obscurity that hangs over the personal history and doctrines of Leucippus, Ritter (Geschichte d. Phil. vol. i. book vi. c. 2) is inclined to believe that Leucippus lived at a time when intercourse between the learned of the different Grecian states was unfrequent. With regard to his philosophical system it is impossible to speak with precision or certainty, as Aristotle and the other writers who mention him, either speak of him in conjunction with Democritus, or attribute to him doctrines which are in like manner attributed to Democritus. Diogenes Laertius (ix. 30-33) attempts an exposition of some of his leading doctrines. Some notices will also be found in Aristotle (De Anima, i. 2), Plutarch (De Placitis Phil. 17), and Cicero (de Nat. Deor. i. 24). For an account of the general features of the atomic theory, as developed by Democritus, the reader is referred to that article.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2006 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
470 - 390
Democritus was a great philosopher born in the city of Avdera (Thrace) c. 470-457 BC. His father was very rich. This helped Democritus be well educated in his hometown as well as in other places. Rumour has it that among his teachers were Chaldaean priests, whose theological and astrological beliefs he heard when he was young. According to unconfirmed information, those priests were given to Democritus' father as a gift by King Xerxes during the Persian invasion in Greece. Thanks to his father's fortune, Democritus left Avdera for a long journey in Asian and African countries. When he returned to Avdera, the city was prosperous. It is likely that he he established a School of Philosophy there.
During his long absence Democritus spent all of his father's fortune. There was a law prohibiting the burial of those citizens who had wasted their parents' money. According to this law it would be impossible for him to be buried at home. However, after his presenting his work "Great Decoration", he was offered money, brass statuettes and a public burial.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Prefecture of Xanthi URL below.
Democritus, (Demokritos). A celebrated philosopher, born at
Abdera, about B.C. 494 or 490, but according to some, B.C. 470 or 460. His father
was a man of noble family and of great wealth, and contributed largely towards
the entertainment of the army of Xerxes on his return to Asia. As a reward for
this service the Persian monarch made him and the other Abderites rich presents
and left among them several Chaldaean Magi. Democritus, according to Diogenes
Laertius, was instructed by these in astronomy and theology. After the death of
his father he determined to travel in search of wisdom, and devoted to this purpose
the portion which fell to him, amounting to one hundred talents. He is said to
have visited Egypt and Ethiopia, the Persian Magi, and, according to some, even
the Gymnosophists of India. Whether, in the course of his travels, he visited
Athens or studied under Anaxagoras is uncertain. There can be little doubt, however,
that during some part of his life he was instructed in the Pythagorean tenets,
and particularly that he was a disciple of Leucippus. After a long course of years
thus spent in travelling, Democritus returned to Abdera, richly stored with the
treasures of philosophy, but destitute even of the necessary means of subsistence.
His brother Damosis, however, received him kindly and liberally supplied all his
wants. According to the law of Abdera, whoever should waste his patrimony should
be deprived of the rites of burial. Democritus, desiring to avoid this disgrace,
gave public lectures to the people, chiefly from his larger Diakosmos, the most
valuable of his writings; in return he received from his hearers many valuable
presents and otlrer testimonies of respect, which relieved him from all apprehension
of suffering public censure as a spendthrift.
Democritus, by his learning and wisdom, and especially by his
acquaintance with natural phenomena, acquired great fame and excited much admiration
among the ignorant Abderites. By giving previous notices of unexpected changes
in the weather, and by other artifices, he had the address to make them believe
that he possessed a power of predicting future events; and they not only looked
upon him as something more than mortal, but even proposed to invest him with the
direction of their public affairs. From inclination and habit, however, he preferred
a contemplative to an active life, and therefore declined these public honours
and passed the remainder of his days in solitude. It is said that from this time
he spent his days and nights in caverns and sepulchres; and some even relate that,
in order to be more perfectly master of his intellectual faculties, he blinded
himself by means of a burning-glass. The story, however, is utterly incredible,
since the writers who mention it affirm that Democritus employed his leisure in
writing books and in dissecting the bodies of animals, neither of which could
well have been effected without eyes. Nor is greater credit due to the tale that
Democritus spent his leisure hours in chemical researches after the philosopher's
stone--the dream of a later age; or to the story of his conversation with Hippocrates,
grounded upon letters which are said to have passed between the father of medicine
and the people of Abdera on the supposed madness of Democritus, but which are
evidently spurious. The only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from these
and other tales is that Democritus was a man of lofty genius and penetrating judgment,
who, by a long course of study and observation, became an eminent master of speculative
and physical science; the natural consequence of which was that, like Roger Bacon
in a later period, he astonished and imposed upon his ignorant and credulous countrymen.
Petronius relates that he was perfectly acquainted with the virtues of herbs,
plants, and stones, and that he spent his life in making experiments upon natural
bodies.
Democritus has been commonly known under the appellation of
"The Laughing Philosopher," and it is gravely related by Seneca that
he never appeared in public without expressing his contempt of the follies of
mankind by laughter. Thus much, in fact, may be easily believed: that a man so
superior to the generality of his contemporaries, and whose lot it was to live
among a race of men who were stupid to a proverb, might frequently treat their
follies with ridicule and contempt. Accordingly, we find that among his fellow-citizens
he had the name of Gelasinos, or "the mocker".
Democritus appears to have been in his morals chaste and temperate,
and his sobriety was repaid by a healthy old age. He lived and enjoyed the use
of his faculties to the term of a hundred years, and at last died through mere
decay.
Democritus expanded the atomic theory of his master Leucippus,
to support the truth of which he maintained the impossibility of division ad infinitum;
and, from the difficulty of assigning a commencement of time, he argued the eternity
of existing nature, of void space, and of motion. He supposed the atoms, originally
similar, to be endowed with certain properties, such as impenetrability and a
density proportionate to their volume. He referred every active and passive affection
to motion, caused by impact, limited by the principle he assumed, that like can
only act on like. He drew a distinction between primary motion and secondary;
impulse and reaction; from a combination of which he produced <*>otary motion.
Herein consists the law of necessity, by which all things in nature are ruled.
From the endless multiplicity of falling atoms have resulted the worlds which
we behold, with all the properties of immensity, resemblance, and dissimilitude
which belong to them. The soul consists (such is his doctrine) of globular atoms
of fire, which impart movement to the body. Maintaining his atomic theory throughout,
Democritus introduced the hypothesis of images (eidola), a species of emanation
from external objects, which make an impression on our senses, and from the influence
of which he deduced sensation (aisthesis) and thought (noesis). He distinguished
between a rude, imperfect, and therefore false perception and a true one. In the
same manner, consistently with his theory, he accounted for the popular notions
of the Deity; partly through our incapacity to understand fully the phenomena
of which we are witnesses, and partly from the impressions communicated by certain
beings (eidola) of enormous stature and resembling the human figure which inhabit
the air. To these he ascribed dreams and the causes of divination. He carried
his theory into practical philosophy also, laying down that happiness consisted
in an equability of temperament (euthumia), whence he deduced his moral principles
and prudential maxims. It was from Democritus that Epicurus borrowed the principal
features of his philosophy. The fragments of Democritus have been collected and
published by Mullach, with notes.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Democritus (fl.460-370 BC)
Life Democritus was a philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and physicist,
master of all the sciences and the founder of atomic physics. He was born in 460
BC in the Thracian city of Abdera, a place renowned for its wealth and its high
intellectual level. His father, called either Hegesistratus or Athenocritus, was
apparently a very wealthy man, and spent lavishly on his son's education. He is
known to have studied with Leucippus, and Aristotle cites both teacher and student
as founders of the atomic school: later, after the pupil had outstripped the master,
his name stands alone as sole representative of the school. Democritus travelled
widely, visiting Egypt, Babylon, Persia, possibly India, and Athens and exhausting
his great wealth in the process; so that he returned to Abdera a poor man, but
delighted with all he had seen and learned. At first his compatriots scorned him
as a prodigal, but once they had recognised his wisdom they came to love and respect
him. He lived to a great age, and when he died was buried in Abdera with great
honours. The school he founded survived in Abdera for many years after his death,
at first adhering faithfully to his teachings, but eventually turning towards
Stoicism and Epicurism.
Democritus was a man with an all-embracing mind, as is evident from
the scope of his writings, of which unfortunately only fragments remain. His philosophy
incorporates virtually the entire body of knowledge of his age, while in their
impressively comprehensive range his works can only be compared with those of
Aristotle.
Work His greatest achievement was the formulation of the atomic theory.
He used the concepts of "full" and "empty" in order to explain phenomena, imagining
"full" as being divided into innumerable imperceptibly tiny particles, separated
one from another by a void. These particles are indivisible, as their Greek name
"atoma" [= that cannot be cut] indicates, and solid ("nasta"). These particles
have the same properties as Parmenides' "on": they are incorruptible, uncaused,
unalterable, infinite in number, without qualitative difference, differing from
one another only in arrangement, position and magnitude. Physical creation is
formed by atoms that move and compound. Since all atoms are made of the same substance,
it follows that their weight is exactly proportional to their size. The difference
in weight between compound bodies of the same size is explained by the greater
amount of empty space in the lighter of them. Every "coming-into being" of a compound
is an association of separate atoms, and every "perishing" is a dissociation of
atoms. Every change must be attributed to a change in the position or order of
the compounding atoms. All the properties of a body are based on the shape, magnitude,
position and arrangement of its atoms. There is however one basic difference:
some properties (weight, density, hardness) belong to the compounds as such, while
other, the so-called sensory properties, those which we ourselves attribute to
things, reflect the manner in which they act upon the object sensed. Just as the
atoms are uncaused and eternal, so too, according to Democritus, is motion: instead
of a moving principle (the Love and Strife of Empedocles; the nous or intelligence
of Anaxagoras), Democritus posited a system inherent in matter itself, in which
a whirling motion (dine) brought atoms together. Motion has no beginning, the
number of atoms and the surrounding void have no limits; and thus there are an
infinity of worlds in an infinite variety of states and forms.
According to Diogenes Laertius, Democritus wrote some 70 treatises;
of these, only fragments survive in the works of later writers. His most important
works (by general category) are:
1. PHYSICS (books 25): "Great World System (Megas Diakosmos)", "Lesser World System"
(Micros Diakosmos)", "Cosmography", "On the planets", "On nature", "On the
nature of man", "On the mind", "On senses", "On flavours", "On colours", "On the
different states", "On successions of states", "Determining forces", "On images",
"On the rules of logic/", "On disputed points", "Celestial causes" (celestial
mechanics), "Causes relating to air" (aerostatics), "Causes relating to the plane"
(statics), "Origins of fire and of fiery states" (heat and thermodynamics), "Origin
of sounds" (acoustics), "Origin s f seeds and plants and fruits" (biology), "Origins
of animals a, b, c" (zoology), "Origins of divers things" (miscellany), "On minerals"
(mineralogy).
2. MATHEMATICS (5 books): "On a difference of opinion or on the contact between
a circle and a sphere", "On geometry", "Geometry", "Numbers", "On irrational lines
and solids".
3. ASTRONOMY - GEOGRAPHY (8 books): "Planispheres", "The Great Year", "On water
clocks", "Description of the heavens", "Description of the firmament", "Radiation",
"Geography", "Circuit of the ocean".
4. TECHNICAL SCIENCES (6 books): "Prognostics", "On the seasonable and the unseasonable",
"On agriculture", "On drawing", "Tactics", "On the art of war". 5.
PHARMACEUTICALS (1 book): "On medicaments", a treatise on nostrums and remedies,
including a preparation to ensure the birth of "fair children": a mixture of fir
seeds, balsam, saffron, honey, milk and wine.
This text is based on the Greek book "Ancient Greek Scientists", Athens, 1995 and is cited Dec 2003 from The Technology Museum of Thessaloniki URL below.
Democritus, (Demokritos), was a native of Abdera in Thrace, an Ionian colony of
Teos. (Aristot. de Coel. iii. 4, Meteor. ii. 7, with Ideler's note.) Some called
him a Milesian, and the name of his father too is stated differently. (Diog. Laert.
ix. 34, &c.) His birth year was fixed hy Apollodorus in 01. 80. 1, or B. C. 460,
while Thrasyllus had referred it to Ol. 77. 3. (Diog. Laert. l. c. § 41, with
Menage's note; Gellius, xvii. 21 ; Clinton, F. H. ad ann. 460.) Democritus had
called himself forty years younger than Anaxagoras. His father, Hegesistratuts,--or
as others called him Damasippus or Athenocritus,--was possessed of so large a
property, that he was able to receive and treat Xerxes on his march through Abdera.
Democritus spent the inheritance, which his father left him, on travels into distant
countries, which he undertook to satisfy his extraordinary thirst for knowledge.
He travelled over a great part of Asia, and, as some state, he even reached India
and Aethiopia. (Cic. de Fin. v. 19; Strabo, xvi.; A. H. C. Geffers, Quaestiones
Democrit.) We know that he wrote on Babylon and Meroe; he must also have visited
Egypt, and Diodorus Siculus (i. 98) even states, that he lived there for a period
of five years. He himself declared (Clem. Alex. Strom. i.), that among his contemporaries
none had made greater journeys, seen more countries, and made the acquaintance
of more men distinguished in every kind of science than himself. Among the last
he mentions in particular the Egyptian mathematicians (arpedonaptai ; comp. Sturz,
de Dialect. Maced.), whose knowledge he praises, without, however, regarding himself
inferior to them. Theophrastus, too, spoke of him as a man who had seen many countries.
(Aelian, V. H. iv. 20; Diog. Laert. ix. 35.) It was his desire to acquire an extensive
knowledge of nature that led him into distant countries at a time when travelling
was the principal means of acquiring an intellectual and scientific culture ;
and after returning to his native land he occupied himself only with philosophical
investigations, especially such as related to natural history. In Greece itself,
too, he endeavoured by means of travelling and residing in the principal cities
to acquire a knowledge of Hellenic culture and civilization. He mentioned many
Greek philosophers in his writings, and his wealth enabled him to purchase the
works they had written. He thus succeeded in excelling, in the extent of his knowledge,
all the earlier Greek philosophers, among whom Leucippus, the founder of the atomistic
theory, is said to have exercised the greatest influence upon his philosophical
studies. The opinion that he was a disciple of Anaxagoras or of the Pythagoreans
(Diog Laert. ix. 38), perhaps arose merely from the fact, that he mentioned them
in his writings. The account of his hostility towards Anaxagoras, is contradicted
by several passages in which he speaks of him in terms of high praise. (Diog.
Laert. ii. 14; Sext. Empir. adv. Math. vii. 140.) It is further said, that he
was on terms of friendship with Hippocrates, and some writers even speak of a
correspondence between Democritus and Hippocrates; but this statement does not
seem to be deserving of credit. (Diog. Laert. ix.42; Brandis, Handbuch der Griech.
u. Rom. Philos.) As he was a contemporary of Plato, it may be that he was acquainted
with Socrates, perhaps even with Plato, who, however, does not mention Democritus
anywhere. (Hermann, System der Platon. Philos.i.) Aristotle describes him and
his views as belonging to the ante-Socratic period (Arist. Metaph. xiii. 4 ; Phys.
ii. 2, de Partib. Anim. i. 1); but modern scholars, such as the learned Dutchman
Groen van Prinsterer (Prosopograph. Platon., comp. Brandis, l. c.), assert, that
there are symptoms in Plato which shew a connexion with Democritus, and the same
scholar pretends to discover in Plato's language and style an imitation of Democritus.
(Persop. Plat.) The many anecdotes about Democritus which are preserved, especially
in Diogenes Laertius, shew that he was a man of a most sterling and honourable
character. His diligence was incredible: he lived exclusively for his studies,
and his disinterestedness, modesty, and simplicity are attested by many features
which are related of him. Notwithstanding his great property, he seems to have
died in poverty, though highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens, not so much on
account of his philosophy, as "because," as Diogenes says, " he
had foretold them some things which the event proved to be true." This had
probably reference to his knowledge of natural phaenomena. His fellow-citizens
honoured him with presents in money and bronze statues. Even the scoffer Timon,
who in his silli spared no one, speaks of Democritus only in terms of praise.
He died at an advanced age (some say that he was 109 years old), and even the
manner in which he died is characteristic of his medical knowledge, which, combined
as it was with his knowledge of nature, caused a report, which was believed by
some persons, that he was a sorcerer and a magician. (Plin. H. N. xxiv. 17, xxx.
1.) His death is placed in 01. 105. 4, or B. C. 357, in which year Hippocrates
also is said to have died. (Clinton, F. H. ad ann. 357.) We cannot leave unnoticed
the tradition that Democritus deprived himself of his sight, in order to be less
disturbed in his pursuits. (Cic. de Fin. v. 29; Gellius, x. 17; Diog. Laert. ix.
36; Cic. Tusc. v. 39; Menage, ad Dioy. Laert. ix. 43.) But this tradition is one
of the inventions of a later age, which was fond of piquant anecdotes. It is more
probable that he may have lost his sight by too severe application to study. (Brandis
l. c.) This loss, however, did not disturb the cheerful disposition of his mind
and his views of human life, which prompted him everywhere to look at the cheerful
and comical side of things, which later writers took to mean, that he always laughed
at the follies of men. (Senec. de Ira, ii. 10; Aelian, V. H. iv. 20.)
Of the extent of his knowledge, which embraced not only natural sciences,
mathematics, mechanics (Brandis, in the Rhein. Mus. iii.), grammar, music, and
philosophy, but various other useful arts, we may form some notion from the list
of his numerous works which is given by Diogenes Laertius (ix. 46-49), and which,
as Diogenes expressly states, contains only his genuine works. The grammarian
Thrasyllus, a contemporary of the emperor Tiberius, arranged them, like the works
of Plato, into tetralogies. The importance which was attached to the researches
of Democritus is evident from the fact, that Aristotle is reported to have written
a work in two books on the problems of Democritus. (Diog. Laert. v. 26.) His works
were composed in the Ionic dialect, though not without some admixture of the local
peculiarities of Abdera. (Philopon. in Aristot. de gener. et corrupt. fol. 7,
a.; Simplic. ad Aristot. de Coelo, fol. 150, a.; Suid. s. v. rnsmos.) They are
nevertheless much praised by Cicero on account of the poetical beauties and the
liveliness of their style, and are in this respect compared even with the works
of Plato. (Groen van Prinsterer, l. c.; Cic. de Div. ii. 64, de Orat. i. 11, Orat.
20; Dionys. de Compos. verb. 24; Plut. Sympos. v. 7.) Pyrrhon is said to have
imitated his style (Euseb. Praep. Evang. xiv. 6), and even Timon praises it, and
calls it periphrona kai amphinoon leschen. (Diog. Laert. ix. 40.) Unfortunately,
not one of his works has come down to us, and the treatise which we possess under
his name is considered spurious. Callimachus wrote glosses upon his works and
made a list of them (Suid. s. v.); but they must have been lost at an early time,
since even Simplicius does not appear to have read them (Papencordt, de Atomicorum
doctrina), and since comparatively few fragments have come down to us, and these
fragments refer more to ethics than to physical matters. There is a very good
collection of these fragments by F. G. A. Mullach, " Democriti Abderitae
operum fragments," Berlin, 1843, 8vo.
The philosophy of Democritus has, in modern times been the subject
of much investigation. Hegel (Vorlesung. ub. Gesch. d. Philos. i.) treats it very
briefly, and does not attach much importance to it. The most minute investigations
concerning it are those of Ritter (Gesch. d. Philos. i.), Brandis (Rhein. Mus.
iii., and Gesch. der Griech. u. Rom. Philos. i.), Petersen (Histor. Philog. Studien.
i.), Papencordt (Atomicorum doctrina), and Mullach (l. c.).
It was Democritus who, in his numerous writings, carried out Leucippus's
theory of atoms, and especially in his observations on nature. These atomists
undertook the task of proving that the quantitative relations of matter were its
original characteristics, and that its qualitative relations were something secondary
and derivative, and of thus doing away with the distinction between matter and
mind or power. (Brandis, l. c.) In order to avoid the difficulties connected with
the supposition of primitive matter with definite qualities, without admitting
the coming into existence and annihilation as realities, and without giving up,
as the Eleatic philosophers did, the reality of variety and its changes, the atomists
derived all definiteness of phaenomena, both physical and mental, from elementary
particles, the infinite number of which were homogeneous in quality, but heterogeneous
in form. This made it necessary for them to establish the reality of a vacuum
or space, and of motion. (Brandis, l. c.) Motion, they said, is the eternal and
necessary consequence of the original variety of atoms in the vacuum or space.
All phaenomena arise from the infinite variety of the form, order, and position
of the atoms in forming combinations. It is impossible, they add, to derive this
supposition from any higher principle, for a beginning of the infinite is inconceivable.
(Aristot. de Generat. Anim. ii. 6, b. 20, ed. Bekker; Brandis, l. c.) The atoms
are impenetrable, and therefore offer resistance to one another. This creates
a swinging, world-producing, and whirling motion. (This reminds us of the joke
in the Clouds of Aristophanes about the god Dinos !) Now as similars attract one
another, there arise in that motion real things and beings, that is, combinations
of distinct atoms, which still continue to be separated from one another by the
vacuum. The first cause of all existence is necessity, that is, the necessary
predestination and necessary succession of cause and effect. This they called
chance, in opposition to the nous of Anaxagoras. But it does the highest honour
to the mind of Democritus, that he made the discovery of causes the highest object
of scientific investigations. He once said, that he preferred the discovery of
a true cause to the possesssion of the kingdom of Persia. (Dionys. Alex. ap. Euseb.
Praep. Evang. xiv. 27.) We must not, therefore, take the word chance (tuche) in
its vulgar acceptation. (Brandis, l. c.) Aristotle understood Democritus rightly
in this respect (Phys. Auscult. ii. 4,11; Simplic. fol. 74), as he generally valued
him highly, and often says of him, that he had thought on all subjects, searched
after the first causes of phenomena, and endeavoured to find definitions. (De
Generat. et Corrupt. i. 2, 8, Metaph. M. 4, Phys. ii. 2, 20, de Part. Anim. i.)
The only thing for which he censures him, is a disregard for teleological relations,
and the want of a comprehensive system of induction. (De Respir. 4, de Generat.
Anim. v. 8.) Democritus himself called the common notion of chance a cover of
human ignorance (prophasin idies anoies), and an invention of those who were too
idle to think. (Dionys. ap. Euseb. Praep. Evang. xiv. 27; Stob. Eclog. Eth.)
Besides the infinite number of atoms existing in infinite space, Democritus
also supposed the existence of an infinite number of worlds, some of which resembled
one another, while others differed from one another, and each of these worlds
was kept together as one thing by a sort of shell or skin. He derived the four
elements from the form of the atoms predominating in each, from their quality,
and their relations of magnitude. In deriving individual things from atoms, he
mainly considered the qualities of warm and cold. The warm or firelike he took
to be a combination of fine, spheric, and very movable atoms, as opposed to the
cold and moist. His mode of proceeding, however, was, first carefully to observe
and describe the phaenomena themselves, and then to attempt his atomistic explanation,
whereby he essentially advanced the knowledge of nature. (Papencordt, l. c.; Brandis,
l. c.) He derived the soul, the origin of life, consciousness, and thought, from
the finest fire-atoms (Aristot. de Anim. i. 2, ed. Trendelenburg); and in connexion
with this theory he made very profound physiological investigations. It was for
this reason that, according to him, the soul while in the body acquires perceptions
and knowledge by corporeal contact, and that it is affected by heat and cold.
The sensuous perceptions themselves were to him affections of the organ or of
the subject perceiving, dependent on the changes of bodily condition, on the difference
of the organs and their quality, on air and light. Hence the differences, e. g.,
of taste, colour, and temperature, are only conventional (Sext. Empir. adv. Math.
vii. 135), the real cause of those differences being in the atoms.
It was very natural, therefore, that Democritus described even the
knowledge obtained by sensuous perception as obscure (skotien krisin). A clear
and pure knowledge is only that which has reference to the true principles or
the true nature of things, that is, to the atoms and space. But knowledge derived
from reason was, in his opinion, not specifically different from that acquired
through the senses; for conception and reflection were to him only effects of
impressions made upon the senses; and Aristotle, therefore, expressly states,
that Democritus did not consider mind as something peculiar, or as a power distinct
from the soul or sensuous perception, but that he considered knowledge derived
from reason to be sensuous perceptions. (De Anim. i. 2., 27.) A purer and higher
knowledge which he opposed to the obscure knowledge obtained through the medium
of the senses, must therefore have been to him a kind of sensation, that is, a
direct perception of the atoms and of space. For this reason he assumed the three
criteria (kriteria) : a. Phaenomena as criteria for discovering that which is
hidden : b. Thought as a criterion of investigation : and c. Assertions as criteria
of desires. (Sext. Emp. adv. Math. vii. 140; Brandis, l. c.) Now as Democritus
acknowledged the uncertainty of perceptions, and as he was unable to establish
a higher and purely spiritual source of knowledge as distinct from perceptions,
we often find him complaining that all human knowledge is uncertain, that in general
either nothing is absolutely true, or at least not clear to us (adelon, Aristot.
Metaph. G. 5), that our senses grope about in the dark (sensus tenebricosi, Cic.
Acad. iv. 10, 23), and that all our views and opinions are subjective, and come
to us only like something epidemic, as it were, with the air which we breathe.
(Sext. Emp. adv. Math. vii. 136, 137, viii. 327, Hypotyp. i. 213 ; Diog. Laert.
ix. 72, eteei d' ouden idmen, en buthoi gar he aleeia, which Cicero translates
in profundo veritatem esse.)
In his ethical philosophy Democritus considered the acquisition of
peace of mind (euthumia) as the end and ultimate object of our actions. (Diog.
Laert. ix. 45; Cic. de Fin. v. 29.) This peace, this tranquillity of the mind,
and freedom front fear (phobos and deisdaimonia) and passion, is the last and
fairest fruit of philosophical inquiry. Many of his ethical writings had reference
to this idea and its establishment, and the fragments relating to this question
are full of the most genuine practical wisdom. Abstinence from too many occupations,
a steady consideration of one's own powers, which prevents our attempting that
which we cannot accomplish, moderation in prosperity and misfortune, were to him
the principal means of acquiring the euthumia. The noblest and purest ethical
tendency, lastly, is manifest in his views on virtue and on good. Truly pious
and beloved by the gods, he says, are only those who hate that which is wrong
(hosois echthron to adikein). The purest joy and the truest happiness are only
the fruit of the higher mental activity exerted in the endeavour to understand
the nature of things, of the peace of mind arising from good actions, and of a
clear conscience. (Brandis, l. c.)
The titles of the works which the ancients ascribed to Democritus
may be found in Diogenes Laertius. We find among them: 1. Works of ethics and
practical philosophy. 2. On natural science. 3. On mathematics and astronomy.
4. On music and poetry, on rhythm and poetical beauty (Bode, Gesch. der Hellen.
Dichtkunst. i. p. 24, &c.), and on Homer. 5. Works of a linguistic and grammatical
nature; for Democritus is one of the earliest Greek philosophers that made language
the subject of his investigations. (Lersch, Sprachphilosophie der Alten, i. )
6. Works on medicine, 7. On agriculture. 8. On painting. 9. On mythology, history,
&c. He had even occupied himself, with success, with mechanics ; and Vitruvius
(Praef. lib. vii.; comp. Senec. Epist. 90) ascribes to him certain inventions,
for example, the art of arching. He is also said to have possessed a knowledge
of perspective. Two works on tactics (Taktikon kai Hoplomachikon) are ascribed
to him, apparently from a confusion of his name with that of Damocritus. (Fabric.
Bibl. Graec. iv.; Mullach, l. c.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Lexicon. A Greek name for a word-book, probably first used in the ninth century A.D. The Latin equivalent dictionarium appears about three centuries later. Chinese writers pretend that lexicons have been known in their language for 3000 years. But the conception of a condensed digest of a branch of knowledge, classified and ordered for convenient reference, is traced by authentic records to that source of all ideas which have been fruitful of intellectual growth, the great age of Greece. In Plato's time, the Homeric poems were a text-book for the study of the youth of Athens, and collections of peculiar words and phrases, with explanations, were made for the use of teachers. At first the notes were written in the order of the text, but convenience soon dictated other arrangements, by subjects or by alphabetical sequence. Before B.C. 400 Democritus of Abdera discussed the vocabulary of Homer, and is even said to have compiled an Homeric dictionary. . .
This extract is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
480 - 410
Protagoras (485-411? BC) was born in Abdera, Thrace. About 445 BC he went to Athens, where he became a friend of the statesman Pericles and won great fame as a teacher and philosopher. Protagoras was the first thinker to call himself a Sophist and to teach for pay, receiving large sums from his pupils. He gave instruction in grammar, rhetoric, and the interpretation of poetry. His chief works, of which only a few fragments have survived, were entitled "Truth" and "On the Gods". The basis of his thought was the doctrine that nothing is absolutely good or bad, true or false, and that each individual is therefore his or her own final authority. This belief is summed up in his saying: "Man is the measure of all things." Charged with impiety by Pythodorus, Protagoras fled into exile; his books were burnt in public; he drowned on his way to Sicily. Two celebrated dialogues, "Theaetetus" and "Protagoras" by Plato, refuted the doctrines of Protagoras.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Prefecture of Xanthi URL below.
Protagoras (c.480-411BC)
Philosopher from Thrace
who taught in Athens and
was a friend of Pericles. He was the first Sophist, and taught grammar, rhetoric
as well as the interpretation of poetry.
Protagoras believed nothing was exclusively good or bad, true or false
and that man is his own authority, saying that “man is the measure of all
things”. This has in later times sometimes been misintrepeted. What the
philosopher ment was that each man's opinions differ, and what is true for one
person can be false for another. Therefore, he concluded, there is no general
or objective truth.
According to Plato, Protagoras stated that the punishment for a crime
is executed in order to prevent the same crime from happening again, and not for
revenge.
Although a celebrated teacher, Protagoras was finally charged with
atheism and drowned fleeing to Sicily.
Fragments of his works Truth and On the Gods have survived.
This text is cited Sept 2003 from the In2Greece URL below.
Protagoras. A celebrated Sophist, born at Abdera, in Thrace, probably about B.C. 480, and died about 411, at the age of nearly seventy years. It is said that Protagoras was once a poor porter, and that the skill with which he had fastened together, and poised upon his shoulders, a large bundle of wood, attracted the attention of Democritus, who conceived a liking for him, took him under his care, and instructed him in philosophy. This well-known story, however, appears to have arisen out of the statement of Aristotle that Protagoras invented a sort of porter's knot for the more convenient carrying of burdens. In addition to this, Protagoras was about twenty years older than Democritus. Protagoras was the first who called himself a Sophist, and taught for pay; and he practised his profession for the space of forty years. He must have come to Athens before B.C. 445, since he drew up a code of laws for the Thurians, who left Athens for the first time in that year. Whether he accompanied the colonists to Thurii, we are not informed; but at the time of the plague (430) we find him again in Athens. Between his first and second visit to Athens he had spent some time in Sicily, where he had acquired great fame; and he brought with him to Athens many admirers out of other Greek cities through which he had passed. His instructions were so highly valued that he sometimes received 100 minae from a pupil; and Plato says that Protagoras made more money than Phidias and ten other sculptors. In 411 he was accused of impiety by Pythodorus, one of the Four Hundred. His impeachment was founded on his book on the gods, which began with the statement, "Respecting the gods, I am unable to know whether they exist or do not exist". The impeachment was followed by his banishment, or, as others affirm, only by the burning of his book. His doctrine was, in fact, a sort of agnosticism based upon the impossibility of attaining any absosolute criterion of truth. It is summed up in the sentence, "Man is the measure of all things" (panton anthropos metron, or, in Latin, homo mensura omnium), implying that each one must be his own final authority; for just as each thing appears to any individual, so it really is for him. This doctrine is therefore styled Individualism. Protagoras wrote a large number of works, of which the most important were entitled Truth (Aletheia) and On the Gods (Peri Theon). The first contained the theory refuted by Plato in the Theaetetus. Plato gives a vivid picture of the teaching of Protagoras in the dialogue that bears his name. Protagoras was especially celebrated for his skill in the rhetorical art. By way of practice in the art he was accustomed to make his pupils discuss theses (communes loci), an exercise which is also recommended by Cicero. He also directed his attention to language, and endeavoured to explain difficult passages in the poets. He is said to have been the first to make the grammatical distinctions of moods in verbs and of genders in nouns.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
430 - 370
Bion from Avdera was an astrologer, meteorologist, mathematician and philosopher, a student of Democritus. Diogenes Laertius informs us that "Bion was a Democritian mathematician who wrote in the Attic and Ionian dialect. He was the first to say that there are places where it is night for six months and day for six months." ¥is remarks show that he was aware of the sphericity of the earth. He is said to have travelled to distant parts of the world.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Prefecture of Xanthi URL below.
Bion. A mathematician of Abdera, and a pupil of Democritus. He wrote both in the Ionic and Attic dialects, and was the first who said that there were some parts of the earth in which it was night for six months, while the remaining six months were one uninterrupted day. (Diog. Laert. iv. 58.) He is probably the same as the one whom Strabo (i.) calls an astrologer.
380 - 320
4th century BC. Anaxarchus belongs to the School of Avdera. His philosophy reflects the ideas of Democritus and Protagoras. The new element, which differentiates him from other philosophers, is his association of philosophy with politics. He accompanied Alexander the Great in his campaign giving advice on various issues. Due to his apathy (impassivity) and the way he enjoyed life, never complaining about anything, he was called "eudemonist". He was a skilled teacher knowing how to help his students find their own way.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Prefecture of Xanthi URL below.
Anaxarchus (Anaxarchos). A philosopher of Abdera, of the school of Democritus, who accompanied Alexander into Asia (B.C. 334). After the death of Alexander (B.C. 323), Anaxarchus was thrown by shipwreck into the power of Nicocreon, king of Cyprus, to whom he had given offence, and who had him pounded to death in a stone mortar.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Anaxarchus (Anaxarchos), a philosopher of Abdera, of the school of Democritus, flourished about 340 B. C. and onwards (Diog. Laert. ix. 58). He accompanied Alexander into Asia, and gained his favour by flattery and wit. From the easiness of his temper and his love of pleasure he obtained the appellation of eudaimonikos. When Alexander had killed Cleitus, Anaxarchus consoled him with the maxim "a king can do no wrong". After the death of Alexander, Anaxarchus was thrown by shipwreck into the power of Nicocreon, king of Cyprus, to whom he had given mortal offence, and who had him pounded to death in a stone mortar. The philosopher endured his sufferings with the utmost fortitude. Cicero (Tusc. ii. 21, de Nat. Deor. iii. 33) is the earliest authority for this tale. Of the philosophy of Anaxarchus we know nothing. Some writers understand his title eudaimonikos as meaning, that he was the teacher of a philosophy which made the end of life to be eudaimonia, and they made him the founder of a sect called eudaimonikoi, of which, however, he himself is the only person mentioned. Strabo ascribes to Anaxarchus and Callisthenes the recension of Homer, which Alexander kept in Darius's perfume-casket, and which is generally attributed to Aristotle. (Arrian, Anab. iv. 10; Plut. Alex. 52; Plin. vii. 23; Aelian, V. H. ix. c. 37)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
340 - 280
3rd century BC. Ecateus from Avdera is mentioned as a historian and philosopher, student of the sceptic Pyrron. He lived between the end of the 4th century BC and the first half of the 3rd century. As Ecateus was the first Greek who was interested in the history of the Jews, the work "About the Judaeans" was later wrongly attributed to him.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Prefecture of Xanthi URL below.
Hecateus. Of Abdera has often been confounded in ancient as well as in modem times with Hecataeus of Miletus. He was a contemporary of Alexander the Great and Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, and appears to have accompanied the former on his Asiatic expedition as far as Syria. He was a pupil of the Sceptic Pyrrho, and is himself called a philosopher, critic, and grammarian. (Suid. s. v. Hekataios ; Joseph. c. Apion. i. 22; Diod. i. 47; Diog. Laert. ix. 61; Plut. Sympos.) From the manner in which he is spoken of by Eusebius (Praep. Evang. ix.), we must infer that he was a man of great reputation on account of his extensive knowledge as well as on account of his practical wisdom (peri tas iraxeis hikanotatos). In the reign of the first Ptolemy he travelled up the Nile as far as Thebes. He was the author of several works, of which, however, only a small number of fragments have come down to us. 1. A History of Egypt. (Diod. i. 47; Phot. Bibl. Cod. 244, where lie is confounded with Hecataeus of Miletus.) Whether the work on the philosophy of the Egyptians, attributed to him by Diogenes Laertius (i. Prooem. § 10), was a distinct work, or only a portion of the History of Egypt, is uncertain. (Comp. Plut. De Is. et Os.) This work on Egypt is one of the causes of the confusion of our Hecataeus with the Milesian, who in his Periegesis had likewise written on Egypt. 2. A work on the Hyperboreans. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. ii. 675; Diod. ii. 47; Aelian, H. A. xi. 1 ; Steph. Byz. s. vv. Elixoia, Karambukai.) 3. A History of the Jews, of which the book on Abraham mentioned by Josephus (Ant. Jud. i. 7), was pro-bably only a portion. This work is frequently referred to by the ancients (Joseph. c. Apion. i. 22 ; Euseb. Praep. Evang. ix., xiii.; Clem. Alex. Strom. v., and others); but it was declared spurious even by Origen (c. Cels. i. 15), and modern critics are divided in their opinions. Suidas attributes to our Hecataeus works on Homer and Hesiod, but makes no mention of the historical works which we have enumerated. The fragments of Hecataeus of Abdera have been collected by P. Zorn, Hecataci Abderitae Fragmenta, Altona, 1730, 8vo. (Comp. Creuzer, Hist. Graec. Antiquiss. Fragm.; Vossius, De Hist. Graec., ed. Westermann.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
"...Now most of Diodoros' first book was lifted wholesale from an early Alexandrian historian, Hekataios of Abdera, whose declared aims were to discredit Greek writers on Egypt, particularly Herodotos (cf. Diod. Sic. 1.69.7) in favor of Egyptian priestly traditions, and to show that everything worthwhile in Greek culture came from Egypt... In fact, Egyptologists have long recognized that Hekataios is describing -- and misunderstanding -- the traditional Egyptian workshop practice of having apprentices make canonical trial pieces (chiefly heads, hands, and feet) as a part of their training; the grid he describes is the revised one current from the seventh century..."
This extract is from: Andrew Stewart, One Hundred Greek Sculptors: Their Careers and Extant Works. Cited Nov 2002 from Perseus Project URL below, which contains extracts from the ancient literature, bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
An unknown philosopher from Avdera. He introduced the notion of incomprehensibility.
572 - 488
He was born in Teo (c. 570 BC), an Ionian town in the coast of Asia Minor. The Persian danger forced a lot of citizens of Teo to abandon their home in 545 BC and settle down in Avdera. Anacreon was among them. Along with Sapho and Alcaeus, Anacreon belongs to the lyrical triad of poets expressing deep human feelings. They are the poets of the individual who absorbs all sorts of feelings: sadness and joy, love and despair.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Prefecture of Xanthi URL below.
Poet from Teos in Asia
Minor who lived and worked in Athens,
Samos and Thessaly.
He wrote mainly about love and wine, and invented a poetic form of verse called
anacreonic.
Anacreon is credited with a satire about the inventor of the throwing
machine, Artemon Periforetos, who was so anxious for his security that he always
had his slaves carry him around close to the ground in case he should fall out,
and with a shield above him in case anything should fall from above.
Anacreon lived until the age of 85, when he choked on a grape and
died.
This text is cited Sept 2003 from the In2Greece URL below.
Anacreon the melic poet was from Teos; in whose time the Teians abandoned their city and migrated to, Abdera, a Thracian city, being unable to bear the insolence of the Persians;
L. Hortensius, as praetor, B. C. 171, succeeded C. Lucretius in the command of the fleet in the war with Perseus, and pursued a like course of oppression with his predecessor. Of Abdera he demanded 100,000 denarii and 50,000 modii of wheat; and when the inhabitants sent to entreat the protection of the consul Mancinus and of the senate, Hortensius was so enraged that he stormed and pillaged the city, beheaded the chief men, and sold the rest into slavery. The senate contented themselves with voting this act to be unjust, and commanding that all who had been sold should be set free. Hortensius continued his robberies, and was again reprimanded by the senate for his treatment of the Chalcidians; but we do not hear that he was recalled or punished. (Liv. xliii. 3, 4, 7, 8.)
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