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Onesicritus
Onesicritus (; c. 360 BC – c. 290 BC), a Greek historical writer and Cynic philosopher, who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns in Asia. He claimed to have been the commander of Alexander's fleet but was actually only a helmsman; Arrian and Nearchus often criticize him for this. When he returned home, he wrote a history of Alexander's campaigns. He is frequently cited by later authors, who also criticize him for his inaccuracies. Life He was a native of Astypalaia, and it was probably to this island origin that he owed the nautical skills which would prove so advantageous to him. He was a disciple of Diogenes of Sinope, the Cynic philosopher. Diogenes Laërtius also calls him "Onesicritus of Aegina", and says that he came to Athens because his two adult sons, Androsthenes and Philiscus, were attracted to the philosophy of Diogenes the Cynic, for which reason Onesicritus also became an ardent disciple. If so, he must have been already advanced in years when he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philiscus Of Aegina
Philiscus of Aegina (; fl. 4th century BC) was a Cynic philosopher from Aegina, who lived in the latter half of the 4th century BC. He was the son of Onesicritus who sent Philiscus and his younger brother, Androsthenes, to Athens where they were so charmed by the philosophy of Diogenes of Sinope that Onesicritus also came to Athens and became his disciple. According to Hermippus of Smyrna, Philiscus was the pupil of Stilpo.''Suda'', "Philiskos", φ 359 He is also described as an associate of Phocion. The ''Suda'' claims that he was a teacher of Alexander the Great, but no other ancient writer mentions this. Aelian, though, has preserved a short exhortation by Philiscus addressed to Alexander: Take care of your reputation; don't become a plague or a great disaster, bring peace and health. The ''Suda'' mentions that Philiscus wrote dialogues including one called ''Codrus''. Satyrus claimed that the tragedies ascribed to Diogenes were, in fact, written by Philiscus. Among the d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nearchus
Nearchus or Nearchos (; – 300 BC) was one of the Greeks, Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and ending at the mouth of the Tigris, Tigris River following the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great, in 326–324 BC. Early life A native of Lato in Crete and son of Androtimus, his family settled at Amphipolis in Ancient Macedonia, Macedonia at some point during Philip II of Macedon, Philip II's reign (we must assume after Philip took the city in 357 BC), at which point Nearchus was probably a young boy. He was almost certainly older than Alexander, as were Ptolemy I, Ptolemy, Erigyius, and the others of the ‘boyhood friends’; so depending on when Androtimus came to Macedonia Nearchus was quite possibly born in Crete. Nearchus, along with Ptolemy I Soter, Ptolemy, Erigyius and Laomedon of Mytilene, Laomedon, and Harpalus, was one of Alexand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander The Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II of Macedon, Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 and spent most of his ruling years conducting Wars of Alexander the Great, a lengthy military campaign throughout West Asia, Western Asia, Central Asia, parts of South Asia, and ancient Egypt, Egypt. By the age of 30, he had created one of the List of largest empires, largest empires in history, stretching from History of Greece, Greece to northwestern History of India, India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Until the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he Alexander's Balkan campaign, campaigned in the Bal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes Laërtius ( ; , ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Little is definitively known about his life, but his surviving book ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek philosophy. His reputation is controversial among scholars because he often repeats information from his sources without critically evaluating it. In many cases, he focuses on insignificant details of his subjects' lives while ignoring important details of their philosophical teachings and he sometimes fails to distinguish between earlier and later teachings of specific philosophical schools. However, unlike many other ancient secondary sources, Diogenes Laërtius tends to report philosophical teachings without trying to reinterpret or expand on them, and so his accounts are often closer to the primary sources. Due to the loss of so many of the primary sources on which Diogenes relied, his work has become the foremost surviving source on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cynicism (philosophy)
Cynicism () is a school of thought in ancient Greek philosophy, originating in the Classical Greek philosophy, Classical period and extending into the Hellenistic philosophy, Hellenistic and Ancient Roman philosophy, Roman Imperial periods. According to Cynicism, people are reasoning animals, and the purpose of life and the way to gain happiness is to achieve virtue, in agreement with nature, following one's natural sense of reason by Simple living, living simply and shamelessly free from social constraints. The Cynics (, ) rejected all conventional desires for wealth, power, Glory (honor), glory, Recognition (sociology), social recognition, conformity, and worldly possessions and even flouted such conventions openly and derisively in public. The first philosopher to outline these themes was Antisthenes, who had been a pupil of Socrates in the late 400s BC. He was followed by Diogenes, who lived in a ceramic jar on the streets of Athens. Diogenes took Cynicism to its logical ext ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astypalaia
Astypalaia (Greek Language, Greek: Αστυπάλαια, ), is a Greece, Greek island with 1,334 residents (2011 census). It belongs to the Dodecanese, an archipelago of fifteen major islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea. However, many scholars recognize Astypalaia as an extension of the Cyclades, as many cultural and ecological components of the island are more indicative of the Cyclades rather than the Dodecanese. The island is long, across at its widest, and covers an area of 97 km2."Astypalaia" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 651. Along with numerous smaller uninhabited offshore islets (the largest of which are Syrna (island), Sýrna and Ofidoussa), it forms the Communities and Municipalities of Greece, Municipality of Astypalaia, which is part of the Kalymnos (regional unit), Kalymnos regional unit. The municipality has an area of 114.077 km2. The capital and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amazons
The Amazons (Ancient Greek: ', singular '; in Latin ', ') were a people in Greek mythology, portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, Labours of Heracles, the ''Argonautica'' and the ''Iliad''. They were female warriors and hunters, known for their physical agility, strength, archery, riding skills, and the arts of combat. Their society was closed to men and they raised only their daughters, returning their sons to their fathers with whom they would only socialize briefly in order to reproduce. Courageous and fiercely independent, the Amazons, commanded by their queen, regularly undertook extensive military expeditions into the far corners of the world, from Scythia to Thrace, Asia Minor, and the Aegean Islands, reaching as far as Arabia and Egypt. Besides military raids, the Amazons are also associated with the foundation of temples and the establishment of numerous ancient cities like Ephesos, Cyme (Aeolis), Cyme, Smyrna, Sino ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dandamis
Dandamis (presumably Greek rendering of "Dandayan-Swami, Svami") was a philosopher, swami and gymnosophist whom Alexander the Great, Alexander encountered in the woods near Taxila, when he invaded India in 4th century B.C. He is also referred to as Mandanes. He was guru of Kalanos, the noted gymnosophist, who accompanied Alexander to Persis. Biography When Alexander met some gymnosophists, who were of trouble to him, he learned that their leader was the Brahmin Dandamis, who lived in the jungle, lying naked on leaves, near a water spring. He then sent Onesicritus, Onescratus to bring Dandamis to him. When Onescratus encountered Dandamis in forest, he gave him the message, that "Alexander, the Great son of Zeus, has ordered him to come to him. He will give you gold and other rewards but if you refuse, he may behead you." When Dandamis heard that, he did not even raise his head and replied lying in his bed of leaves. "God the Great King, is not a source of violence but provider o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been part of Cyrus the Younger's attempt to seize control of the Achaemenid Empire. As the military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge wrote, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior". For at least two millennia, it has been debated whether or not Xenophon was first and foremost a general, historian, or philosopher. For the majority of time in the past two millennia, Xenophon was recognized as a philosopher. Quintilian in Institutio Oratoria, ''The Orator's Education'' discusses the most prominent historians, orators and philosophers as examples of eloquence and recognizes Xenophon's historical work, but ultimately places Xenophon next to Plato as a philosopher. Today, Xenophon is recognized as one of the gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see things at great distance as if they were nearby was also called "Strabo". (; ''Strábōn''; 64 or 63 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek geographer who lived in Anatolia, Asia Minor during the transitional period of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is best known for his work ''Geographica'', which presented a descriptive history of people and places from different regions of the world known during his lifetime. Additionally, Strabo authored historical works, but only fragments and quotations of these survive in the writings of other authors. Early life Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amasya, Amaseia in Kingdom of Pontus, Pontus in around 64BC. His family had been involved in politics s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aulus Gellius
Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, or compilation of notes on grammar, philosophy, history, antiquarianism, and other subjects, preserving fragments of the works of many authors who might otherwise be unknown today. Name Medieval manuscripts of the ''Noctes Atticae'' commonly gave the author's name in the form of "Agellius", which is used by Priscian; Lactantius, Servius and Saint Augustine had "A. Gellius" instead. Scholars from the Renaissance onwards hotly debated which one of the two transmitted names is correct (the other one being presumably a corruption) before settling on the latter of the two in modern times. Life The only source for the life of Aulus Gellius is the details recorded in his writings. Internal evidence points to Gellius having been born between A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
