Panaetius (; grc-gre, Παναίτιος, Panaítios; – ) of
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
was an
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
Stoic
Stoic may refer to:
* An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy
*STOIC, a programming language
* ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll
* ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain
*' ...
philosopher. He was a pupil of
Diogenes of Babylon
Diogenes of Babylon (also known as Diogenes of Seleucia; grc-gre, Διογένης Βαβυλώνιος; la, Diogenes Babylonius; c. 230 – c. 150/140 BC) was a Stoic philosopher. He was the head of the Stoic school in Athens, and he was one of ...
and
Antipater of Tarsus
Antipater of Tarsus ( el, Ἀντίπατρος ὁ Ταρσεύς; died 130/129 BC) was a Stoic philosopher. He was the pupil and successor of Diogenes of Babylon as leader of the Stoic school, and was the teacher of Panaetius. He wrote works on ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, before moving to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
where he did much to introduce Stoic doctrines to the city, thanks to the patronage of
Scipio Aemilianus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...
. After the death of Scipio in 129 BC, he returned to the Stoic school in Athens, and was its last undisputed
scholarch
A scholarch ( grc, σχολάρχης, ''scholarchēs'') was the head of a school in ancient Greece. The term is especially remembered for its use to mean the heads of schools of philosophy, such as the Platonic Academy in ancient Athens. Its fir ...
. With Panaetius, Stoicism became much more eclectic. His most famous work was his ''On Duties'', the principal source used by
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
in
his own work of the same name.
Life
Panaetius, son of Nicagoras, was born around 185–180 BC, into an old and eminent Rhodian family. He is said to have been a pupil of the linguist
Crates of Mallus
Crates of Mallus ( grc-gre, Κράτης ὁ Μαλλώτης, ''Krátēs ho Mallṓtēs''; century BC) was a Greek grammarian and Stoic philosopher, leader of the literary school and head of the library of Pergamum. He was described as the ...
, who taught in
Pergamum
Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...
, and moved to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
where he attended the lectures of
Critolaus
Critolaus (; el, Κριτόλαος ''Kritolaos''; c. 200 – c. 118 BC) of Phaselis was a Greek philosopher of the Peripatetic school. He was one of three philosophers sent to Rome in 155 BC (the other two being Carneades and Diogenes of Babylon) ...
and
Carneades
Carneades (; el, Καρνεάδης, ''Karneadēs'', "of Carnea"; 214/3–129/8 BC) was a Greek philosopher and perhaps the most prominent head of the Skeptical Academy in ancient Greece. He was born in Cyrene. By the year 159 BC, he had begu ...
, but attached himself principally to the Stoic
Diogenes of Babylon
Diogenes of Babylon (also known as Diogenes of Seleucia; grc-gre, Διογένης Βαβυλώνιος; la, Diogenes Babylonius; c. 230 – c. 150/140 BC) was a Stoic philosopher. He was the head of the Stoic school in Athens, and he was one of ...
and his disciple
Antipater of Tarsus
Antipater of Tarsus ( el, Ἀντίπατρος ὁ Ταρσεύς; died 130/129 BC) was a Stoic philosopher. He was the pupil and successor of Diogenes of Babylon as leader of the Stoic school, and was the teacher of Panaetius. He wrote works on ...
. Although it is often thought that he was chosen by the people of
Lindos
Lindos (; grc-gre, Λίνδος) is an archaeological site, a fishing village and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it ...
, on Rhodes, to be the priest of
Poseidon Hippios, this was actually an honour bestowed upon his grandfather, who was also called Panaetius, son of Nicagoras
[P. E. Easterling, Bernard Knox, (1989), ''The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Part 3'', p. 196. Cambridge University Press]
Probably through
Gaius Laelius
Gaius Laelius was a Roman general and statesman, and a friend of Scipio Africanus, whom he accompanied on his Iberian campaign (210–206 BC; the Roman Hispania, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) and his African campaign (204–202 BC). His co ...
, who had attended the lectures of Diogenes and then of Panaetius, he was introduced to
Scipio Aemilianus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...
and, like
Polybius
Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail.
Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
before him, gained his friendship. Both Panaetius and Polybius accompanied him on the Roman embassy that Scipio headed to the principal monarchs and polities of the Hellenistic east in 139–138 BC. Along with Polybius, he became a member of the
Scipionic Circle The Scipionic Circle, or the Circle of Scipio, was a group of philosophers, poets, and politicians patronized by their namesake, Scipio Aemilianus. Together they would discuss Greek culture, literature, and humanism. Alongside their philhellenic ...
.
He returned with Scipio to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, where he did much to introduce Stoic doctrines and Greek philosophy. He had a number of distinguished Romans as pupils, amongst them
Q. Scaevola the augur and
Q. Aelius Tubero the Stoic. After the death of Scipio in spring 129 BC, he resided by turns in Athens and Rome, but chiefly in Athens, where he succeeded Antipater of Tarsus as head of the Stoic school. The right of citizenship was offered him by the Athenians, but he refused it. His chief pupil in philosophy was
Posidonius
Posidonius (; grc-gre, wikt:Ποσειδώνιος, Ποσειδώνιος , "of Poseidon") "of Apamea (Syria), Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geog ...
. He died in Athens sometime in 110/09 BC, the approximate year in which
L. Crassus the orator found there no longer Panaetius himself, but his disciple
Mnesarchus.
Philosophy
With Panaetius began the new
eclectic
Eclectic may refer to:
Music
* ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014
* ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996
* Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act
* Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...
shaping of
Stoic
Stoic may refer to:
* An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy
*STOIC, a programming language
* ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll
* ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain
*' ...
theory; so that even among the
Neoplatonists
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...
he passed for a Platonist. For this reason also he assigned the first place in philosophy to
Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
, not to
Logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...
,
and appears not to have undertaken any original treatment of the latter. In Physics he gave up the Stoic doctrine of the
conflagration of the universe; tried to simplify the division of the faculties of the soul; and doubted the reality of divination.
[Cicero, ''de Divinatione'', i. 3, ii. 42, 47, ''Academica'', ii. 33, comp. Epiphanius, ''adv. Haeres.'' ii. 9] In
Ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
he recognised only a two-fold division of
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
, the theoretical and the practical, in contrast to the ''dianoetic'' and the ''ethical'' of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
.
Panaetius attempted to bring the ultimate goal of life closer to natural impulses, and to show by similes the inseparability of the virtues. Possibly as an answer to a similar criticism of stoicism given by
Carneades
Carneades (; el, Καρνεάδης, ''Karneadēs'', "of Carnea"; 214/3–129/8 BC) was a Greek philosopher and perhaps the most prominent head of the Skeptical Academy in ancient Greece. He was born in Cyrene. By the year 159 BC, he had begu ...
, he stated virtue alone was not enough if there is no adequate living and health.
He argued that the recognition of the moral, as something to be striven after for its own sake, was a fundamental idea in the speeches of
Demosthenes
Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...
. He rejected the doctrine of ''
apatheia
Apatheia ( el, ἀπάθεια; from ''a-'' "without" and ''pathos'' "suffering" or "passion"), in Stoicism, refers to a state of mind in which one is not disturbed by the passions. It might better be translated by the word equanimity than the word ...
'', and instead affirmed that certain pleasurable sensations could be regarded as in accordance with
nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
. He also insisted that moral definitions should be laid down in such a way that they might be applied by the person who had not yet attained to
wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
.
Writings
''On Duties''
The principal work of Panaetius was, without doubt, his treatise ''On Duties'' ( el, Περί του Καθήκοντος 'Peri tou Kathēkontos' (Classical) or 'Peri tou Kathikodos' (Modern)) composed in three books. In this he proposed to investigate, first, what was moral or immoral; then, what was useful or not useful; and lastly, how the apparent conflict between the moral and the useful was to be decided; for, as a Stoic, he could only regard this conflict as apparent not real. The third investigation he had expressly promised at the end of the third book, but had not carried out; and his disciple
Posidonius
Posidonius (; grc-gre, wikt:Ποσειδώνιος, Ποσειδώνιος , "of Poseidon") "of Apamea (Syria), Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geog ...
seems to have only timidly and imperfectly supplied what was needed. Cicero wrote his own work ''
On Duties'' in deliberate imitation of Panaetius, and stated that in the third section of the subject that he did not follow Posidonius, but instead that he had completed independently and without assistance what Panaetius had left untouched. To judge from the insignificant character of the deviations, to which Cicero himself calls attention, as for example, the attempt to define moral obligation, the completion of the imperfect division into three parts, the rejection of unnecessary discussions, small supplementary additions, in the first two books Cicero has borrowed the scientific contents of his work from Panaetius, without any essential alterations. Cicero seems to have been induced to follow Panaetius, passing by earlier attempts of the Stoics to investigate the philosophy of morals, not merely by the superiority of his work in other respects, but especially by the effort that prevailed throughout it, laying aside abstract investigations and paradoxical definitions, to demonstrate the philosophy of morals in its application to life. Generally speaking, Panaetius, following
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
,
Xenocrates
Xenocrates (; el, Ξενοκράτης; c. 396/5314/3 BC) of Chalcedon was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and leader (scholarch) of the Platonic Academy from 339/8 to 314/3 BC. His teachings followed those of Plato, which he attempted to d ...
,
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...
,
Dicaearchus
Dicaearchus of Messana (; grc-gre, Δικαίαρχος ''Dikaiarkhos''; ), also written Dikaiarchos (), was a Greek philosopher, geographer and author. Dicaearchus was a student of Aristotle in the Lyceum. Very little of his work remains extan ...
, and especially
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 ...
, had softened down the severity of the earlier Stoics, and, without giving up their fundamental definitions, had modified them so as to be capable of being applied to the conduct of life, and clothed them in the garb of eloquence.
That
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
has not reproduced the entire contents of the three books of Panaetius, we see from a fragment, which is not found in Cicero, preserved by
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 ...
, and which acquaints us with Panaetius's treatment of his subject in its
rhetorical
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
aspects.
Other works
Panaetius also wrote treatises concerning ''On Cheerfulness''; on the ''Magistrates''; ''On Providence''; ''On Divination'';
a political treatise used by Cicero in his ''De Republica''; and a letter to Quintus Aelius Tubero.
[Cicero, ''De Finibus'', iv. 9, 23] His work ''On Philosophical Schools'' appears to have been rich in facts and critical remarks, and the notices which we have about
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
, and on the books of Plato and others of the Socratic school, given on the authority of Panaetius, were probably taken from that work.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
* Aristotle. “Book VI”. Nicomachean Ethics.
*
Further reading
* Gill, Christopher. 1994. "Peace of Mind and Being Yourself: Panaetius to Plutarch." In ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt.'' Vol. II.36.7. Edited by Wolfgang Haase and Hildegard Temporini, 4599–4640. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
* Dyck, Andrew R. 1979. "The Plan of Panaetius' Περι τοῦ καθήκοντος." ''American Journal of Philology'' C: 408–416.
* Morford, Mark P. O. 1999. "The Dual Citizenship of the Roman Stoics." In Veritatis Amicitiaeque Causa: Essays in Honor of Anna Lydia Motto and John R. Clark. Edited by Anna Lydia Motto, 147–164. Wauconda (Ill.) : Bolchazy-Carducci.
* Roskam, Geert. 2005. "The Doctrine of Moral Progress in Later Stoic Thinking.” ''On the Path to Virtue: The Stoic Doctrine of Moral Progress and its Reception in (Middle-) Platonism.'' Ancient and Medieval Philosophy 33. Leuven, Belgium: Leuven Univ. Press.
* Sandbach, Francis Henry. 1975. ''The Stoics. Ancient Culture and Society.'' London: Chatto & Windus.
* Schofield, Malcolm. 2012. "The Fourth Virtue." Cicero's Practical Philosophy. Edited by Water Nicgorski, 43–57. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.
* Stone, A. M. 2008. "Greek Ethics and Roman Statesmen: De Officiis and the Philippics." In ''Cicero’s Philippics: History, rhetoric and ideology.'' Edited by Tom Stevenson and Marcus Wilson, 214–239. Prudentia 37–38. Auckland, New Zealand: Polygraphia.
* Straaten, M. van. 1976. "Notes on Panaetius' Theory of the Constitution of Man." In ''Images of Man in Ancient and Medieval Thought: Studia Gerardo Verbeke ab amicis et collegis dicata.'' Edited by Gérard Verbeke & Fernand Bossier. Leuven: Leuven University Press.
* Tieleman, Teun L. 2007. "Panaetius’ Place in the History of Stoicism, with Special Reference to his Moral Psychology." In ''Pyrrhonists, Patricians, Platonizers: Hellenistic Philosophy in the Period 155–86 BC; Tenth Symposium Hellenisticum.'' Edited by Anna Maria Ioppolo and David N. Sedley, 104–142. Naples: Bibliopolis.
* Walbank, Frank William. 1965. "Political Morality and the Friends of Scipio." ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 55.1–2: 1–16.
* Wiemer, Hans-Ulrich. 2018. "A Stoic Ethic for Roman Aristocrats? Panaitios' Doctrine of Behavior, its Context and its Adressees". In ''The Polis in the Hellenistic World''. Edited by Henning Börm and
Nino Luraghi
Nino Luraghi (born 30 November 1964) is an Italian historian of ancient Greece, who holds the Wykeham Professorship of Ancient History at Oxford University.
Life
Luraghi is the son of Raimondo Luraghi (1921–2012), an Italian resistance fight ...
, 229–258. Stuttgart: Steiner.
{{Authority control
180s BC births
110s BC deaths
2nd-century BC Greek people
2nd-century BC philosophers
Hellenistic-era philosophers
Roman-era Rhodian philosophers
Roman-era students in Athens
Stoic philosophers