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(Δάμων; Dámōn) [German version] [1] Prince of the Telchines Prince of the  Telchines. Father-in-law of Minos and ancestor of Miletus. When the Telchines were struck dead by lightning by Jupiter because they poisoned crops, D. and his family were spared in gratitude for hospitality provided. Only his daughter Macelo and her husband were among the victims (Nic. in the schol. Ov. Ib. 475). Bloch, René (Berne) [German version] [2] Pythagorean from Syracuse A Pythagorean from Syracuse, friend of Phintias, for whom he stood surety with his life. According to Aristoxenus (…

(Λύκων; Lýkōn). [German version] [1] Athenian, late 5th cent. BC Athenian, supported the rebellion of Pissuthnes against the Great King around 420 BC. Bribed by Tissaphernes, L. fell away from Pissuthnes and received several cities as territory under his rule in recompense (Ctesias FGrH 688 F 15,53). Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) [German version] [2] Prosecutor of Socrates Prosecutor of Socrates (Pl. Ap. 23e; 36a); satirized by comedians (Eupolis fr. 61; 232; Metagenes fr. 10 PCG; schol. Aristoph. Vesp. 1169) because of his poverty, foreign origin, …

[German version] (Ἑρμοδάμας; Hermodámas). Descendant of the Homerid Creophylus of Samos (cf. [1]), probably 6th cent. BC. Is said to have been the teacher of Pythagoras in old age (Neanthes FGrH 84 F 29 = Porph. vita Pythagorae 1; Antonius Diogenes p. 136 Stephens-Winkler = Porph. ibid. 15; Diog. Laert. 8,2; cf. Apul. Flor. 15; Iambl. VP 9 and 11; [2]).  Homerids;  Creophylus;  Pythagoras Riedweg, Christoph (Zürich) Bibliography 1 W. Burkert, Die Leistung eines Kreophylos, in: MH 29, 1972, 77f. 2 M. Detienne, Homère, Hésiode et Pythagore, 1962, 13f.

[German version] [1] Poet of the Old Comedy Poet of the Old Comedy, one-time winner at the Dionysia of the 91st Olympiad (415-412 BC) [1.test.1.2]. 61 fragments and six titles are extant, amongst them an Amphitryon and a Plutos. Rhinon and ‘Fishes’ ( Ichthyes) -- portraying a fish state (cf. Aristophanes' state of birds) in conflict with the Athenians -- were probably written after 403 BC. Occasionally, four plays by Aristophanes were also attributed to A. [1.test.4]. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG II, 538-557. [German version] [2] Pythagoraean Pythagorean who, acc…

[German version] (Μυῖα; Myîa). Daughter of Pythagoras and Theano, according to Porph. Vita Pythagorica 4 (cf. Anon. Photii p. 237,16 Thesleff = Phot. Bibl. 249, VII p. 126,31 Henry; Suda s.v. M.), according to Iambl. VP 267 wife of Milon [2] of Croton. Perhaps she is the one referred to in Timaeus' report (FGrH 566 F 131 = Porph. ibid.) that Pythagoras' daughter, as a maiden, was the leader of the maidens in Croton, and as a woman she led the women. A pseudepigraphic letter to Phyllis regarding the proper choice of a nurse is found in [1]. Riedweg, Christoph (Zürich) Bibliography 1 A. Städele, D…

For the problematic nature of the tradition, see Pythagoras [2] A. [German version] A. Beginnings and organization In the sources, the beginnings of the Pythagorean School take on the aura of legend. When Pythagoras arrived at Croton, his appearance and speeches so overwhelmed those who met him that he was immediately joined by a large number of Crotonians and influential persons from the area (Dicaearchus fr. 33 Wehrli along with Porph. Vita Pythagorae 19; cf. Nicomachus in Porph. ibid. 20 and already Isocr. Or…

(Φιλόλαος; Philólaos). [German version] [1] P. of Corinth is said to have belonged to the group of nobles called the Bacchiadae, to have gone into exile in Thebes with his lover Diocles, and to have been buried there in a clearly visible tomb (Aristot. Pol. 1274a 31-b5). P. gave the Thebans laws on the procreation of children, which were referred to as νόμοι θετικοί ( nómoi thetikoí), apparently aimed at preserving the number of plots of land (Aristot. Pol. 1274b 2-5), perhaps through adoption of an heir by childless landowners. Such measures, which were also …

(Ἵππαρχος; Hípparchos). [German version] [1] Second son of Peisistratus, around 530 BC Second son of  Peisistratus and an Athenian woman. Together with his older brother  Hippias [1] and the younger Thessalus, H. assumed his inheritance (528/527 BC) after his father's death (Thuc. 6,55; [Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 18,1). In contrast to Hippias, H. exhibited no political profile. He dedicated himself to aristocratic social life and culture and invited, among others,  Anacreon [1] of Teos and  Simonides of Ceos to A…

(Ἱκέτας; Hikétas). [German version] [1] Syracusan nobleman, tyrant of Leontini, around 350 BC Syracusan nobleman, friend of  Dion [I 1]. In the troubles after Dion's death in 353 BC he won the tyranny of Leontini. He initially supported the Syracusans in their struggle against  Dionysius [2] II. However, during his campaign against Syracuse in 346 he reached an understanding with Dionysius because of the approaching Carthaginians and supported his plea to the Corinthians for help. The superiority of the Cart…

[German version] The Greek terms μετεμψύχωσις ( metempsýchōsis, literally 're-ensoulment'), μετενσωμάτωσις ( metensōmátōsis, 're-embodiment'), παλιγγενεσία ( palingenesía, 're-becoming') are not recorded in ancient sources before the 1st cent. BC (only the verbal phrase πάλιν γίγνεσθαι/ pálin gígnesthai is in Plato; the noun in the other sense, that of periodic world renewal, is documented in the older Stoa). However, the doctrine of the migration of the soul is demonstrably present in the Greek cultural sphere from the 2nd half o…

(Διόδωρος, Διόδορος; Diódōros, Diódoros). Well-known representatives of the name: the philosopher D. [4] Kronos, the mathematician D. [8] of Alexandria, the universal historian D. [18] Siculus, the early Christian theologian D. [20] of Tarsus. [German version] [1] Athenian fleet commander in the Peloponnesian War Athenian, fleet commander with Mantitheus at the end of 408-407 BC at the Hellespont with a sufficient number of ships, so that Alcibiades [3] was able to sail to Samos and Thrasyllus and Theramenes to Athens (Diod. Sic. 13,68,2). (Traill, PAA 329550; Develin 171). Kinzl, …

(Εὔρυτος; Eúrytos). [German version] [1] Hom. character Ruler of Oechalia, mentioned in Hom. Il. 2,596; 730. The location of Oechalia is unclear (on the Peloponnese?). In Hom. Od. 21,20ff., Iphitus the son of E., while searching for his horses in Messenia, gives Odysseus his father's great bow (with which Odysseus later kills the suitors), and on his search is later murdered by Heracles. E. himself is killed by Apollo, whom he challenges to an archery competition (Od. 8,224-228). He plays an important role in the non-extant early epic ‘The Capture of Oechalia’ (Οἰχαλίας ἅλωσις; Oichalías…

(Ἀρχύτας, Archỳtas) [1] of Tarentum Pythagoraean philosopher [German version] A. Life Important Pythagorean philosopher of the ‘mathematical’ orientation, politician of Tarentum, a friend of Plato's. His life and his teachings are known in little more than outline because of insufficient records; his true works, with the exception of a few fragments, are lost, as is Aristoxenus' biography, Aristotle's treatise on A.'s philosophy and his comparison of Plato's Timaeus and A. (no. 94 in Diog. Laert. 5,25 = no. 85 in Hesychius' catalogue). A. is described as the so…

[German version] (Πέτρων; Pétrōn) of Himera. Considered by Diels/Kranz to be one of the older Pythagoreans (No. 16). In the only testimony, the authenticity of which is disputed (Hippys FGrH 554 F 5 = Phaenias fr. 12 Wehrli = Plut. De def. or. 23, 422de; cf. [1; 2]), the hypothesis that there are 183 worlds connected in a row with each other is attributed to him. Cosmology; Pythagoras; Pythagorean School Riedweg, Christoph (Zürich) Bibliography 1 W. Burkert, Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism, 1972, 114 n. 35 2 L. Zhmud, Wissenschaft, Philosophie und Religion im frühen Pyt…

[German version] (Λύσις; Lýsis). Pythagorean of Tarentum, who according to Aristoxenus fr. 18 Wehrli, at a young age escaped together with Archippus [2] the arson attack on the Pythagoreans in Croton dated at around 450 and 440 or 415; he is said to have then migrated to Greece and to have become the teacher of Epaminondas in Thebes (cf. Aristox. ibid.; Dion Chrys. or. 49,5 etc.; [1]). L.'s pseudepigraphic letter to Hipparchus [3], in which the latter is urged to adhere to Pythagoras' instructions …

[German version] (Λαμίσκος; Lamískos). A Tarantine, member of the circle around Archytas [1]; he led the legation that the friends of Plato in Tarentum sent to Syracuse in 360 BC after the latter's break with Dionysius [2] II. L. succeeded in getting Dionysius to let Plato leave Syracuse (Pl. Ep. 7, 350a 7-b 4; derived from this are the mentions of L. in the two forged Archytas letters in Diog. Laert. 3,22 and 8,80). Pythagorean School Riedweg, Christoph (Zürich)

I. Mesopotamia [German version] A. Numerical systems Before systems for representing numbers in writing were (further) developed, counting stones, known as calculi or tokens, were used in arithmetic. As first-order representations they enabled operations such as increasing, decreasing, combining, separating, and distributing. Their relationship to the numerical notations recorded in the oldest ‘texts’ ( c. 3300 BC; Uruk) is still discussed [2]. The numerical signs in these texts do not represent absolute numbers but context-dependent units of count…

(Μνήσαρχος; Mnḗsarchos). [German version] [1] Father of Pythagoras Father of Pythagoras (6th and early 5th cents. BC), whose historicity seems certain (cf. Heracl. fr. 17 Marcovich and Hdt. 4,95,1), even if the tradition is contradictory and sometimes legendary. M. is sometimes described as a Samian gem cutter (Diog. Laert. 8,1; Apul. Flor. 15; cf. Porph. Vita Pythagorica 1; [1]), sometimes as a merchant from the Tyrrhenian island of Lemnos who had settled on Samos (Neanthes FGrH 84 F 29a = Porph. ibid…

(Ἵππασος; Híppasos). Name often used in epic texts for figures lacking any further characterization, particularly common in patronymic information about less important heroes. Esp. interesting in this context are [1] - [4]: [German version] [1] Father of Actor, the Argonaut  Father of Actor, the Argonaut (Apoll. Rhod. 1,112; Hyg. Fab. 14). Visser, Edzard (Basle) [German version] [2] Father of Charops  Father of  Charops [4] (Hom. Il. 11,426). Visser, Edzard (Basle) [German version] [3] Father of Hypsenor  Father of Hypsenor, killed by Deiphobus (Hom. Il. 13,411). Visser, Edzard …

(Κλεινίας; Kleinías). [German version] [1] Friend of Solon, heard of the seisáchtheia in advance and was able to unjustly enrich himself One of  Solon's, friends, who heard of the   seisáchtheia in advance and, therefore, was able to unjustly enrich himself (Plut. Solon 15,6-9; cf. [Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 6,2). The story was probably invented in the late 5th cent. BC to discredit the descendants of these men (e.g., Alcibiades [3]). Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) Bibliography Davies, 600 III Rhodes, 128f. Traill, PAA 575270. [German version] [2] Born c. 510 BC, son of Alcibiade…