Perictione ( grc-gre, Περικτιόνη ''Periktiónē''; fl. 5th century BC) was the mother of the Greek philosopher

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 ...

. She was a descendant of

Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...

, the Athenian lawgiver. Her illustrious family goes back to Dropides, archon of the year 644 b.c. She was married to Ariston, and had three sons (

Glaucon Glaucon (; el, Γλαύκων; c. 445 BC – 4th century BC), son of Ariston, was an ancient Athenian and Plato's older brother. He is primarily known as a major conversant with Socrates in the ''Republic''. He is also referenced briefly in th ...

, Adeimantus, and

) and a daughter (

Potone Potone (; grc-gre, Πωτώνη, Pōtṓnē; born before 427 BC) daughter of Ariston and Perictione, was Plato's older sister. Her mother was Perictione and she was born in Collytus, just outside Athens. She married Eurymedon of Myrrhinus, with w ...

). After Ariston's death, she remarried

Pyrilampes Pyrilampes ( grc-gre, wikt:Πυριλάμπης, Πυριλάμπης) was an Ancient Athens, ancient Athenian politician and stepfather of the philosopher Plato. His dates of birth and death are unknown, but Debra Nails estimates he must have been ...

, an Athenian statesman and her uncle. She had her fifth child, Antiphon, with Pyrilampes. Antiphon appears in Plato's ''

Parmenides Parmenides of Elea (; grc-gre, Παρμενίδης ὁ Ἐλεάτης; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Elea in Magna Graecia. Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Elea, from a wealthy and illustrious family. His dates a ...

''. Two spurious works attributed to Perictione have survived in fragments, ''On the Harmony of Women'' and ''On Wisdom''. The works do not date from the same time and are usually assigned to a Perictione I and a Perictione II.Mary Ellen Waithe, ''A History of Women Philosophers: Volume 1, 600 BC-500 AD'', Springer. This assignment makes it seem evident that perhaps either one or neither were actually composed by this Perictione. Both works are

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

ous

Pythagorean Pythagorean, meaning of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras, may refer to: Philosophy * Pythagoreanism, the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras * Ne ...

literature. ''On the Harmony of Women'', concerns the duties of a woman to her

husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...

, her

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

, and to her

parent A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

s; it is written in

Ionic Greek Ionic Greek ( grc, Ἑλληνικὴ Ἰωνική, Hellēnikē Iōnikē) was a subdialect of the Attic–Ionic or Eastern dialect group of Ancient Greek. History The Ionic dialect appears to have originally spread from the Greek mainland ac ...

and probably dates to the late 4th or 3rd century BC.Ian Michael Plant, ''Women writers of ancient Greece and Rome: An anthology'', University of Oklahoma Press (2004), p. 76. ''On Wisdom'' offers a philosophical definition of wisdom; it is written in

Doric Greek Doric or Dorian ( grc, Δωρισμός, Dōrismós), also known as West Greek, was a group of Ancient Greek dialects; its varieties are divided into the Doric proper and Northwest Doric subgroups. Doric was spoken in a vast area, that included ...

and probably dates to the 3rd or 2nd century BC. There were also allegations of her husband Ariston treating her badly due to trouble and war. According to Ariston the god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

came to him in a dream and told him otherwise.

Sources

External links

* ''From the treatise of Perictyone – On the Duties of a Woman''. Translated by Thomas Taylor, published 1822, at

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* ''From the treatise of Perictyone – On the Harmony of a Woman''. Translated by Thomas Taylor, published 1822, at Wikisource {{Authority control 5th-century BC Athenians Ancient Athenian women Ancient Greek pseudepigrapha Ancient Greek women philosophers Family of Plato 5th-century BC Greek women