Aesara: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
remove content cited to waithe as fanciful, reviews of her book by scholars have been extremely harsh so I do not believe it should be used. Plant also follows Waithe uncritically and is not an independent source. Per my comment on the talk page, I've dug into the cited sources and there appears to be no real evidence that this person exists.
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Ancient Greek philosopher}}
{{short description|Ancient Greek philosopher}}
'''Aesara of Lucania''' ({{lang-el|Αἰσάρα}} ''Aisara'') was a conjectured [Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean]] philosopher who may have written ''On Human Nature'', a fragment of which is preserved by [[Stobaeus]], although the majority of critical scholars follow Holger Thesleff<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thesleff |first1=Holger |title=An introduction to the pythagorean writings of the hellenistic period |date=1961 |publisher=°Abo Akademi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_PIzQEACAAJ |access-date=12 July 2023 |language=de}}</ref> in attributing it to [[Aresas]],<ref>{{cite journal |title=Review of: Pythagorean Women: Their History and Writings |journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review |url=https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2014/2014.08.58/ |issn=1055-7660}}</ref> a male writer from Lucania who is also mentioned by [[Iamblichus]] in his ''Life of Pythagoras''.<ref>Iamblichus, ''Life of Pythagoras'', 266</ref>
{{Undue weight|date=May 2023}}
'''Aesara of Lucania''' ({{lang-el|Αἰσάρα}} ''Aisara''; 4th or 3rd century BC) was a [[Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean]] philosopher who wrote ''On Human Nature'', of which a fragment is preserved by [[Stobaeus]].

==Life==
Aesara is known only from a one-page fragment of her philosophical work titled ''On Human Nature'' preserved by [[Stobaeus]].<ref>Stobaeus, i. 49. 27</ref> [[Lucania]], where she came from, was an ancient district of southern [[Italy]] and part of [[Magna Graecia]] where many Pythagorean communities existed. Aesara is counted among the Pythagoreans who were scattered after their expulsion from Crotona in the 5th century BC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/aesara-lucania-fl-400s-300s-bce|title=Aesara of Lucania (fl. 400s–300s BCE) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=2019-04-30}}</ref> It has been conjectured that her name is a variation on the name Aresa, who, according to one minor tradition, was a daughter of [[Pythagoras]] and [[Theano (philosopher)|Theano]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Plant|2004|pp=81–82}}</ref> A male writer from Lucania called Aresas is also mentioned by [[Iamblichus]] in his ''Life of Pythagoras''.<ref>Iamblichus, ''Life of Pythagoras'', 266</ref>

==Work==
''On Human Nature'' is written in the [[Doric Greek|Doric]] prose characteristic of the 3rd century BC or earlier,<ref>{{Harvnb|Waithe|1987|p=72}}; {{Harvnb|Plant|2004|pp=81–82}}</ref> although that doesn't preclude the possibility that it was written later in an archaic style.<ref>{{Harvnb|Waithe|1987|p=68}}</ref> It has been argued that the fragment is a [[Neopythagorean]] forgery dating from the [[Roman era]]. Even so, this at least implies that there was an earlier Pythagorean called Aesara of Lucania worth imitating.<ref>{{Harvnb|Waithe|1987|pp=61–62}}</ref> It has also been suggested that the fragment is [[pseudonym]]ous and comes from a textbook produced by one of the dissenting successor schools to [[Archytas of Tarentum]] in Italy in the 4th or 3rd century BC.<ref>{{Harvnb|Waithe|1987|pp=63–65}}</ref> In the absence of any strong evidence supporting either hypothesis, there is no reason to suppose that the fragment was not written by a woman philosopher called Aesara in the 4th or 3rd centuries BC.<ref>{{Harvnb|Waithe|1987|pp=72–73}}; {{Harvnb|Plant|2004|pp=81–82}}</ref>

Aesara argues that it is by studying our own [[human nature]] (and specifically the human soul) that we can understand the philosophical basis for [[natural law]] and [[morality]]:<ref name="waithe19">{{Harvnb|Waithe|1987|p=19}}</ref>
<blockquote>
Human nature seems to me to provide a standard of law and justice both for the home and for the city.</blockquote>
Aesara divides the soul into three parts: the mind which performs judgement and thought, the spirit which contains courage and strength, and desire which provides love and friendliness:
<blockquote>
Being threefold, it is organized in accordance with triple functions: that which effects judgment and thoughtfulness is [the mind], that which effects strength and ability is [high spirit], and that which effects love and kindliness is desire.
</blockquote>
These things, being divine, are the rational, mathematical, and functional principles at work in the soul.<ref>{{Harvnb|Waithe|1987|p=22}}; {{Harvnb|Plant|2004|pp=81–82}}</ref> Aesara's theory of natural law concerns three applications of morality, concerning the individual, the family, and social institutions.<ref name="waithe19"/>

The Pythagoreans were notable as a sect for including women in their ranks. This did not necessarily equate to modern ideas of equality; they believed that women were responsible for creating harmony and justice in the home, in the same way that men had the same responsibility towards the state.<ref name="waithe25">{{Harvnb|Waithe|1987|p=25}}</ref> Seen in this context, Aesara's theory of natural law is fundamental to justice and harmony in society as a whole.<ref name="waithe25"/>


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{Citation
| last = Plant
| first = Ian
| year = 2004
| title = Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome: An Anthology
| publisher = Equinox
| isbn = 1-904768-02-4
}}
*{{Citation
| last = Waithe
| first = Mary Ellen
| year = 1987
| title = A History of Women Philosophers: Volume I: Ancient Women Philosophers, 600 BC - 500 AD
| publisher = Springer
| isbn = 90-247-3368-5
}}

==External links==
*[https://archive.today/20130105064108/http://www.women-philosophers.com/Aesara-of-Lucania.html Aesara of Lucania] at [http://www.women-philosophers.com/ Women-philosophers.com]


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Aesara}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aesara}}
[[Category:4th-century BC Greek philosophers]]
[[Category:Pythagoreans]]
[[Category:Pythagoreans]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek women philosophers]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek women philosophers]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek women writers]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek women writers]]
[[Category:4th-century BC women writers]]
[[Category:4th-century BC writers]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC women writers]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC writers]]
[[Category:Doric Greek writers]]
[[Category:Doric Greek writers]]
[[Category:Lucanian Greeks]]
[[Category:Lucanian Greeks]]
Line 61: Line 17:
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]

[[Category:3rd-century BC Greek women]]
{{AncientGreece-philosopher-stub}}
[[Category:4th-century BC Greek women]]

Revision as of 01:12, 12 July 2023

Aesara of Lucania (Greek: Αἰσάρα Aisara) was a conjectured [Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean]] philosopher who may have written On Human Nature, a fragment of which is preserved by Stobaeus, although the majority of critical scholars follow Holger Thesleff[1] in attributing it to Aresas,[2] a male writer from Lucania who is also mentioned by Iamblichus in his Life of Pythagoras.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Thesleff, Holger (1961). An introduction to the pythagorean writings of the hellenistic period (in German). °Abo Akademi. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Review of: Pythagorean Women: Their History and Writings". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. ISSN 1055-7660.
  3. ^ Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras, 266
Stub icon

This biography of a philosopher from Ancient Greece is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aesara&oldid=1164936324"