|
Penia
In Plato's ''Symposium'', Penae ("deficiency" or "poverty" in Latin) or Penia (; "deficiency" or "poverty" in Greek) was the personification of poverty and need. She married Porus at Aphrodite's birthday and was sometimes considered the mother of Eros. Her sisters are Amechania and Ptocheia. Penia was also mentioned by other ancient Greek writers such as Alcaeus (Fragment 364), Theognis (Fragment 1; 267, 351, 649), Aristophanes (''Plutus'', 414ff), Herodotus, Plutarch (''Life of Themistocles''), and Philostratus (''Life of Apollonius''). Mythology General Portrayal Penia was the Goddess of Poverty. Although she was despised by many, she played an important role in teaching mankind to stay humble and productive. In her portrayal by the playwright Aristophanes, Penia attempts to convince two foolish men about the dangers of allowing wealth to be abundant for everybody. She debates the issue of motivation among those who are wealthy; by acquiring a luxurious life, humans will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plutus (play)
''Plutus'' ( grc, Πλοῦτος, ''Ploutos'', "Wealth") is an Ancient Greek comedy by the playwright Aristophanes, which was first produced in 388 BCE. A political satire on contemporary Athens, it features the personified god of wealth Plutus. Reflecting the development of Old Comedy towards New Comedy, it uses such familiar character types as the stupid master and the insubordinate slave to attack the morals of the time. Plot The play features an elderly Athenian citizen, Chremylos, and his slave Cario or Carion. Chremylos presents himself and his family as virtuous but poor, and has accordingly gone to seek advice from an oracle. The play begins as he returns to Athens from Delphi, having been instructed by Apollo to follow the first man he meets and persuade him to come home with him. That man turns out to be the god Plutus — who is, contrary to all expectations, a blind beggar. After much argument, Plutus is convinced to enter Chremylos's house, where he will have his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porus (Greek Mythology)
There are related mythological figures named Porus or Poros ( grc, Πόρος "resource" or "plenty") in Greek classical literature. In Plato's ''Symposium'', Porus was the personification of resourcefulness or expediency. He was seduced by Penia (poverty) while drunk on more than his fill of nectar at Aphrodite's birthday. Penia gave birth to Eros (love) from their union. Porus was the son of Metis. According to the character Diotima, Eros is forever in need because of his mother, but forever pursuing because of his father. This figure exists in Roman mythology as well and is known as Pomona, in which Porus is the personification of abundance. He is the maternal half-brother of Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of .... Notes Greek gods Personifications ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amechania
In Greek mythology, Amechania or Amekhania (Ancient Greek: Àμηχανίην) was the spirit of helplessness. She was regarded as a close companion (and sister) of Penia and Ptocheia. She was virtually identical to Aporia. Amechania was mentioned by ancient Greek authors such as Alcaeus and Herodotus.Herodotus, ''Histories'' 8.111.1 Notes References * Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ..., ''The Histories'' with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920. Online version at the Topos Text Project. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ptocheia
Ptocheia or Ptokheia (pronounced pa-toh-KEE-uh; Ancient Greek: Πτωχείας) was the ancient Greek female spirit of beggary. She was regarded as a companion (and a sister) of Penia and Amechania. Her opposites were Euthenia and Ploutos.Aristophanes, ''Plutus In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Plutus (; grc-gre, Πλοῦτος, Ploûtos, wealth) is the god and the personification of wealth, and the son of the goddess of agriculture Demeter and the mortal Iasion. Family Plutus is most commonl ...'' 549 ff. Note Greek goddesses Personifications in Greek mythology {{Greek-deity-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symposium (Plato)
The ''Symposium'' ( grc, Συμπόσιον, ) is a philosophical text by Plato, dated . It depicts a friendly contest of extemporaneous speeches given by a group of notable men attending a banquet. The men include the philosopher Socrates, the general and political figure Alcibiades, and the comic playwright Aristophanes. The speeches are to be given in praise of Eros, the god of love and desire. In the ''Symposium'', Eros is recognized both as erotic love and as a phenomenon capable of inspiring courage, valor, great deeds and works, and vanquishing man's natural fear of death. It is seen as transcending its earthly origins and attaining spiritual heights. This extraordinary elevation of the concept of love raises a question of whether some of the most extreme extents of meaning might be intended as humor or farce. ''Eros'' is almost always translated as "love", and the English word has its own varieties and ambiguities that provide additional challenges to the effort to under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning on the European continent. Along with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of Ancient Greek philosophy and the Western and Middle Eastern philosophies descended from it. He has also shaped religion and spirituality. The so-called neoplatonism of his interpreter Plotinus greatly influenced both Christianity (through Church Fathers such as Augustine) and Islamic philosophy (through e.g. Al-Farabi). In modern times, Friedrich Nietzsche diagnosed Western culture as growing in the shadow of Plato (famously calling Christianity "Platonism for the masses"), while Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eros
In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is described as one of the children of Aphrodite and Ares and, with some of his siblings, was one of the Erotes, a group of winged love gods. Etymology The Greek , meaning 'desire', comes from 'to desire, love', of uncertain etymology. R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Cult and depiction Eros appears in ancient Greek sources under several different guises. In the earliest sources (the cosmogonies, the earliest philosophers, and texts referring to the mystery religions), he is one of the primordial gods involved in the coming into being of the cosmos. In later sources, however, Eros is represented as the son of Aphrodite, whose mischievous interventions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diotima Of Mantinea
Diotima of Mantinea (; el, Διοτίμα; la, Diotīma) is the name or pseudonym of an ancient Greek character in Plato's dialogue '' Symposium'', possibly an actual historical figure, indicated as having lived circa 440 B.C. Her ideas and doctrine of ''Eros'' as reported by the character of Socrates in the dialogue are the origin of the concept today known as Platonic love. Identity The name Diotima means one who honors or is honored by Zeus, and her descriptor as "Mantinikê" (Mantinean) seems designed to draw attention to the word "''mantis''", which suggests an association with prophecy. Explicitly described as a foreigner (ξένη) (201e) and as wise (σοφὴ) in not only the subject of love but also of many other things (ἄλλα πολλά), she is often associated with priestcraft by a majority of scholars insofar as: 1 - she advises the Athenians on sacrifice (thusiai) which delayed the onset of a plague (201d), and 2 - her speech on eros utilizes the language of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Socratic Dialogue
Socratic dialogue ( grc, Σωκρατικὸς λόγος) is a genre of literary prose developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC. The earliest ones are preserved in the works of Plato and Xenophon and all involve Socrates as the protagonist. These dialogues and subsequent ones in the genre present a discussion of moral and philosophical problems between two or more individuals illustrating the application of the Socratic method. The dialogues may be either dramatic or narrative. While Socrates is often the main participant, his presence in the dialogue is not essential to the genre. Platonic dialogues Most of the Socratic dialogues referred to today are those of Plato. Platonic dialogues defined the literary genre subsequent philosophers used. Plato wrote approximately 35 dialogues, in most of which Socrates is the main character. Strictly speaking, the term refers to works in which Socrates is a character. As a genre, however, other texts are included; Plato's ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philostratus
Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; grc-gre, Φιλόστρατος ; c. 170 – 247/250 AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He was born probably around 170, and is said by the ''Suda'' to have been living in the reign of emperor Philip the Arab (244–249). His death possibly occurred in Tyre c. 250 AD. Name and identity Some ambiguity surrounds his name. The name ''Flavius'' is given in ''The Lives of the Sophists'' and Tzetzes. Eunapius and Synesius call him a Lemnian; Photius a Tyrian; his letters refer to him as an Athenian. It is probable that he was born in Lemnos, studied and taught at Athens, and then settled in Rome (where he would naturally be called ''Atheniensis'') as a member of the learned circle with which empress Julia Domna surrounded herself. Works attributed to Philostratus Historians agree that Philostratus authored at least five works: ''Life of Apollo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', a series of biographies of illustrious Greeks and Romans, and ''Moralia'', a collection of essays and speeches. Upon becoming a Roman citizen, he was possibly named Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (). Life Early life Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the small town of Chaeronea, about east of Delphi, in the Greek region of Boeotia. His family was long established in the town; his father was named Autobulus and his grandfather was named Lamprias. His name is derived from Pluto (πλοῦτον), an epithet of Hades, and Archos (ἀρχός) meaning "Master", the whole name meaning something like "Whose master is Pluto". His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are frequently mentioned in his essays and dialogues, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for having written the '' Histories'' – a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus was the first writer to perform systematic investigation of historical events. He is referred to as " The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Cicero. The ''Histories'' primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical, geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of the narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information. Herodotus has been criticized for his inclusion of "legends and f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
