Lectures 13 - 15 Flashcards
elenchus
Logical refutation (frequently used in reference to Socrates style)
Alexander the Great
(356–322 B.C.)
King of Macedon (336–322) after his father, Philip II, led military campaigns that defeated the Persian Empire and extended Greek influence into central Asia.
Macedonians
Byzantine dynasty (867–1034), which presided over military successes, economic prosperity, and brilliant cultural achievements.
Philip II
(382–336 B.C.)
King of Macedon who forged a uni ed monarchy and conquered Greece. Father of Alexander the Great.
Aristotle
(384–322 B.C.)
Philosopher, pupil of Plato. Prolific writer on biology, politics. ethics, poetics.
Plato
(429–347 B.C.)
Pupil of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy. Philosopher best known for his theory of “forms,” or “ideas.” Prolific author of dialogues and treatises.
Aristotle’s Ideal State
- Should be an oligarchy
- The best citizens should rule (hoi aristoi), aristocracy
Plato’s Ideal State
- Philosopher king
- Those best in mind should be entrusted with rule
Socrates
(469–399 B.C.)
Athenian philosopher who developed the elenchus, a rigorous method of dissecting the arguments of others. Taught Plato, among others. Put to death by the Athenian authorities.
Isocrates
(436–338 B.C.)
Greek orator and statesman who argued for Panhellenism, a union of all Greeks.
Panhellenism
“All-Greek”-ism
Demosthenes
(384–322 B.C.)
Athenian orator and statesman who warned his fellow citizens against the dangers of the Macedonians.
Hellenistic world
Period from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. to the Roman triumph in the Mediterranean in 31. A time of large kingdoms and empires in which Greek cultural influences were dominant.
Greek: Koine
Common
Epicurus
(341–270 B.C.)
Hellenistic philosopher who taught in Athens and gave his name to Epicureanism
Epicureanism
Philosophy that stressed happiness or pleasure, defined as an absence of pain or strife (not hedonism, as it later came to be understood).
barbarians
To Greeks, babblers, people who did not speak Greek; to Romans, people outside the empire. The word gradually acquired more acutely negative connotations.
Antigonids
Dynasty of rulers who succeeded to one of Alexander’s generals. They ruled the Balkans until the Romans conquered them in a series of 2nd-century wars.
Seleucids
Dynasty of rulers in Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia who descended from one of Alexander’s generals. Conquered by the Romans in the 1st century B.C.
Ptolemies
Dynasty of rulers in Egypt descended from one of Alexander’s generals. The last one, Cleopatra, was defeated by Rome in 31 B.C.
Archimedes
(287–212 B.C.)
Hellenistic scientist and inventor (beginning of experimental dimension).
Aristarchus
(circa 275 b.c.e)
First formulated the “heliocentric” theory (that the earth revolves around the sun, which is at the center of the “universe”).
Eratosthenes
(c. 274–194 B.C.)
Hellenistic polymath who wrote on many subjects, including comedy, but best known for calculating the circumference of the earth.
Ptolemy
(127–48 b.c.e.)
Hellenistic scientist best known for collecting enormous amounts of astronomical observations and formulating a theory of planetary motion that was dominant until Johannes Keppler
Apollonius of Rhodes
(b. c. 295 B.C.)
Alexandrian scholar and author best known for Argonautica, in which Jason and his Argonauts go in search of the golden fleece.
Menander
(ca 342–289 b.c.e.)
Hellenistic author of “new comedies,” which were entertaining but not philosophically or socially significant. His only complete surviving play is Curmudgeon.
Stoicism
Hellenistic philosophy that stressed calm, obedience to natural law, adherence to moral duty, essential equality of all. Founded by Zeno.
Zeno
(335–263 B.C.)
Philosopher who taught at the stoa poikile (painted porch) in Athens. Founder of Stoicism
Hellenistic Philosophy
Stoicism and Epicureanism:
- “Therapeutic philosophies”
- Focus shifted to ethics:
- “How can I cope? How can I live?”
Septuagint
Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, allegedly prepared by 70 translators in 70 days in Alexandria. Seven books longer than the Hebrew version. Authoritative still in Orthodox churches.
