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Chilon of Sparta ( grc, Χείλων) (fl. 6th century BC) was a
Spartan Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...
and one of the
Seven Sages of Greece The Seven Sages (of Greece) or Seven Wise Men (Greek: ''hoi hepta sophoi'') was the title given by classical Greek tradition to seven philosophers, statesmen, and law-givers of the 7–6th century BC who were renowned for their wisdom. The S ...
.


Life

Chilon was the son of Damagetus, and lived towards the beginning of the 6th century BC.
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 ...
speaks of him as contemporary with Hippocrates, the father of
Peisistratus Pisistratus or Peisistratus ( grc-gre, Πεισίστρατος ; 600 – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular ...
.
Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...
states that he was an old man in the 52nd
Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not until ...
(572 BC), and that he was elected an
ephor The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''ép ...
(overseer) in
Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
in the 56th Olympiad (556/5 BC).
Alcidamas Alcidamas ( grc-gre, Ἀλκιδάμας), of Elaea, in Aeolis, was a Greek sophist and rhetorician, who flourished in the 4th century BC. Life He was the pupil and successor of Gorgias and taught at Athens at the same time as Isocrates, to wh ...
states that he was a member of the Spartan assembly. Diogenes Laërtius even goes so far as to claim that Chilon was also the first person who introduced the custom of joining the ephors to the kings as their counselors.Diogenes Laërtius, i. 68-73 Chilon is said to have helped to overthrow the tyranny at
Sicyon Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. An ancient mona ...
, which became a Spartan ally. He is also credited with the change in Spartan policy leading to the development of the
Peloponnesian League The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of ancient Greek city-states, dominated by Sparta and centred on the Peloponnese, which lasted from c.550 to 366 BC. It is known mainly for being one of the two rivals in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC ...
in the sixth century BC. Another legend claims that he died of joy when his son gained the prize for boxing at the
Olympic games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, and that his funeral was attended by all the Greeks assembled at the festival. One of his descendants married king
Anaxandridas II Anaxandridas II ( grc-gre, Ἀναξανδρίδας) was an Agiad king of Sparta between c. 560 BC and c. 524 BC, father of Leonidas I and grandfather of Pleistarchus. Under the leadership of the ephor Chilon, in office during the middle of th ...
of Sparta and bore his son, king
Cleomenes I Cleomenes I (; Greek Κλεομένης; died c. 490 BC) was Agiad King of Sparta from c. 524 to c. 490 BC. One of the most important Spartan kings, Cleomenes was instrumental in organising the Greek resistance against the Persian Empire of Dariu ...
.


Sayings and teachings

Chilon of Sparta also said the famous Ancient Greek proverb: "Το λακωνίζειν εστί φιλοσοφείν", in English "less is more", or "brevity is the soul of wit", or "brevity is a way of philosophy", which means that the best way of being a philosopher is through brevity and describes the Spartans' way of thinking and attitude. Diogenes Laërtius describes him as a writer of elegiac poems, and attributes many sayings to him: * "Do not speak evil of the dead." * "Honor old age." * "Prefer punishment to disgraceful gain; for the one is painful but once, but the other for one's whole life." * "Do not laugh at a person in misfortune." * "If one is strong be also merciful, so that one's neighbors may respect one rather than fear one." * "Learn how to regulate one's own house well." * "Do not let one's tongue outrun one's sense." * "Restrain anger." * "Do not dislike divination." * "Do not desire what is impossible." * "Do not make too much haste on one's road." * "Obey the laws." According to an inscription at the Bath of the Seven Sages in Ostia "cunning Chilon taught to fart silently."
Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow (born 1949) is an American archaeologist known for her studies of hydraulic engineering in the ancient world. She works at Brandeis University as a professor of classical studies, the Kevy and Hortense Kaiserman Endowed Chai ...
, ''The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy: Toilets, Sewers, and Water Systems'', The University of North Carolina Press, 2015,
p.115
in the original Latin 'Vissire tacite Chilon docuit subdolus.'


References


Further reading

*
Franz Kiechle Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...
: ''Chilon''. In: ''
Der Kleine Pauly Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...
'', Bd. 1 (1964), Sp. 1146. *G.L. Huxley. ''Early Sparta'', 1962 *''The Lives and Opinions of the Eminent Philosophers'', by
Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...
*
Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
, 7, c. 33.


External links

* {{Authority control 6th-century BC Spartans Ancient Spartan poets Seven Sages of Greece Ephors