Cebes of Thebes (, ''gen''.: Κέβητος;

Debra Nails Debra Nails (born November 15, 1950) is an American philosophy professor who taught at Michigan State University. Nails earned her M.A. in philosophy and classical Greek from Louisiana State University before going on to earn a Ph.D. in philosophy ...

, (2002), ''The people of Plato: a prosopography of Plato and other Socratics'', page 82.) was an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

philosopher from Thebes remembered as a disciple of

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

Life

Cebes was a disciple of Socrates and

Philolaus Philolaus (; , ''Philólaos''; ) was a Greek Pythagorean and pre-Socratic philosopher. He was born in a Greek colony in Italy and migrated to Greece. Philolaus has been called one of three most prominent figures in the Pythagorean tradition and ...

, and a friend of

Simmias of Thebes Simmias of Thebes (; fl. 5th–4th century BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, disciple of Socrates, and a friend of Cebes. In his ''Memorabilia'', Xenophon includes him in the inner circle of Socrates' followers. He appears in Plato's ''Phaed ...

. He is one of the speakers in the ''

Phaedo ''Phaedo'' (; , ''Phaidōn'') is a dialogue written by Plato, in which Socrates discusses the immortality of the soul and the nature of the afterlife with his friends in the hours leading up to his death. Socrates explores various arguments fo ...

'' of

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

, in which he is represented as an earnest seeker after virtue and truth, keen in argument and cautious in decision.

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 ...

says he was a member of Socrates' inner circle, and a frequent visitor to the

hetaera A (; , ; . , ), Romanization of Greek, Latinized as ( ), was a type of highly educated female companion in ancient Greece who served as an artist, entertainer, and conversationalist. Historians have often classed them as courtesans, but th ...

, Theodote, in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. He is also mentioned by Plato in the ''

Crito ''Crito'' ( or ; ) is a dialogue written by the ancient Greece, ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It depicts a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito of Alopece regarding justice (''δικαιοσύνη''), injustice (''ἀ ...

'' and ''

Epistle An epistle (; ) is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The ...

'' ''

XIII XIII may refer to: * 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals * 13th century in Roman numerals * ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance ** ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a 2003 video game based on the comic b ...

''. Three dialogues, the ''Hebdome'', the ''Phrynichus'', and the ''Pinax'' (Πίναξ) or ''Tabula'', are attributed to him by the ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

'' and

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 ph ...

. The two former are lost, and most scholars deny the authenticity of the ''Tabula'' on the ground of material and verbal anachronisms.

The ''Tablet of Cebes''

The ''Tablet of Cebes'' is probably by a pseudonymous author of the 1st or 2nd century. The work professes to be an interpretation of an allegorical picture of a tablet on which the whole of human life with its dangers and temptations was symbolically represented, and which is said to have been dedicated by someone in the temple of

Cronus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or ; ) was the leader and youngest of the Titans, the children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky). He overthrew his father and ruled dur ...

at Athens or Thebes. The author introduces some youths contemplating the tablet, and an old man who steps among them undertakes to explain its meaning. It is intended to show that only the proper development of our mind and the possession of real virtues can make us truly happy. The author develops the Platonic theory of

pre-existence Pre-existence, premortal existence, beforelife, or life before birth, is the belief that each individual human soul existed before mortal conception, and at some point before birth enters or is placed into the body. Concepts of pre-existence c ...

, and shows that true education consists not in mere erudition, but rather in the formation of character. Parallels are often drawn between this work and

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

's ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...

''. The ''Tabula'' has been widely translated both into

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an languages and into

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(the latter version published with the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

text and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

translation by

Claudius Salmasius Claude Saumaise (15 April 1588 – 3 September 1653), also known by the Latin name Claudius Salmasius, was a French classical scholar. Life Salmasius was born at Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy (region), Burgundy. When Salmasius was sixteen, his fath ...

in 1640). It has often been printed together with the ''

Enchiridion of Epictetus The ''Enchiridion'' or ''Handbook of Epictetus'' (, ''Enkheirídion Epiktḗtou'') is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice compiled by Arrian, a 2nd-century disciple of the Greek philosopher Epictetus. Although the content is mostly derived ...

''. Separate editions have been issued by CS Jerram (with introduction and notes, 1878),

Karl Praechter Karl Praechter (17 October 1858, Heidelberg – 18 February 1933, Halle an der Saale) was a German classical philologist. From 1877 he studied theology in Lausanne, followed by studies of classical philology at several German universities. He ...

(1893), and many others.See

Eduard Zeller Eduard Gottlob Zeller (; ; 22 January 181419 March 1908) was a German philosopher and Protestant theologian of the Tübingen School of theology. He was well known for his writings on Ancient Greek philosophy, especially Pre-Socratic Philosophy, ...

's ''History of Greek Philosophy''; F Klopfer, ''De Cebetis Tabula'' (1818–1822); C Prachter, ''Cebetis Tabula quanam aetate conscripta esse videatur'' (1885). An English translation and commentary by John T. Fitzgerald and L. Michael White was published in 1983.

References

External links

''The Greek Pilgrim's progress. Generally known as the Picture, by Kebes''
Translated by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie, 1910, at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

.
''Cebes' tablet, with introduction, notes, vocabulary, and grammatical questions''
Greek, by Richard Parsons, 1904, at the

.
''The Table of Cebes, or, The Picture of Human Life''
Translated by Thomas Scott, 1754. *

of the Tablet of Cebes by John Opsopaus, Ph.D. {{Authority control 4th-century BC Greek philosophers Ancient Greek ethicists Ancient Thebans Pupils of Socrates

Life

The ''Tablet of Cebes''

See also

References

External links