Hipparchia of Maroneia

He maintained that everything in the world belongs to the wise, a declaration which he proved by the following logic, all things belong to the gods, the gods are friends to wise persons, all things are common amongst friends, therefore all things belong to the wise.

Among the Cynics are Monimus, Onesicritus, Crates, Metricoes, Hipparchia, who married Crates, Menippus, and Menedemus.

The Cyrenaic sect, founded by Aristippus of Cyrene, four hundred and thirty-five to three hundred and fifty-six BC, promulgated the doctrine of hedonism.

Learning of the fame of Socrates, Aristippus journeyed to Athens and applied himself to the teachings of the great skeptic.

But Diocles says that it was Diogenes who persuaded him to discard all his estate and his flocks and to throw his money into the sea.

And he says further that the house of Cratus was destroyed by Alexander and that of Hipparchia under Philip.

But he would very frequently drive away with his staff those of his relations who came after him and endeavoured to dissuade him from his design and he remained immovable.

Demetrius the Magnesian relates that he deposited his money with a banker making an agreement with him that if his sons turned out ordinary ignorant people he was then to restore it to them.

But if they became philosophers then he was to divide it among the people for that they were, if they were philosophers, would have no need of anything.

And Eratosthenes tells us that he had by Hipparchia, whom we shall mention hereafter, a son whose name was Pasicles.

And that when he grew up he took him to a brothel kept by a female slave and told him that was all the marriage that his father designed for him.

But that marriages which resulted in adultery were themes for tragedians and had exile and bloodshed for their prizes.

Recording by Leonard Wilson.

The Ballad of Dead Ladies by Dante Gabriel Rossetti Tell me now in what hidden way Is Lady Flora, the lovely Roman; Where's Hipparchia, and where is Theis, Neither of them the fairer woman; Where is Echo, beheld of no man, Only heard on river and mere, She whose beauty was more than human: But where are the snows of yesteryear? Where's Heloise the learned nun, For whose sake Abelard, I ween, Lost manhood and put priesthood on; From love he won such dole and teen.

And where, I pray you, is the Queen Who willed that Buridan should steer, Sewed in a sack's mouth, down the Seine: But where are the snows of yesteryear? White Queen Blanche, like a queen of lilies, With a voice like any mermaiden; Bertha Broadfoot, Beatrice, Alice, And Ermengarde the Lady of Maine; And that good Joan whom Englishmen At Rouen doomed and burned her there: Mother of God, where are they then? But where are the snows of yesteryear? Nay, never ask this week, fair lord, Where they are gone, nor yet this year, Except with this for an over-word: But where are the snows of yesteryear? End of The Ballad of Dead Ladies by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Recording by Leonard Wilson of Springfield, Ohio.

When Hipparchia of Maronia went into a symposium with Cretes, she tested Theodoros the Atheist by proposing a sophism like this.

That which if Theodorus did, he would not be said to do wrong, neither should Hipparchia be said to do wrong if she does it.

Theodorus hitting himself does not do wrong, nor does Hipparchia do wrong hitting Theodorus.

He did not reply to what she said, but pulled up her garment.

Maronia was the largest and most important of all ancient Greek colonies of Western Thrace.

The city of Maronia owned its prosperity to the extensive and rich territory and to the port which favoured the development of intense commercial activity.

Centuries later, during the Roman period, the city was granted many privileges by the Romans, such as the proclamation of its freedom and the increase of its territory, where a dense network of rural settlements was developed.

But for the purposes of our story today, Maronia is important because the legendary female Greek philosopher Hipparchia, the protagonist of the anecdote above, and sister of the scenic philosopher Metroclus, she was from there.

What is good is honorable, and what is bad is disgraceful.

On examination it is found that one of the most eminent members of this school is Hipparchia.

That she is not a mere listener imbibing the ideas of others is shown in the fact that she lectured publicly and argued strongly before the philosophers of Athens.

The founder of the Cynic school of philosophy is said to have been Antisthenes, the son of a Thracian mother.

One of the sayings of this philosopher is that virtue is the same in a man as in a woman.

That the question of the position of women was a theme for discussion in the age under consideration is shown in a sophism proposed by Hipparchia to Theodorus.

Once when she went to sup with Lysimachus she said to Theodorus, What Theodorus could not be called wrong for doing, that same thing Hipparchia ought not to be called wrong for doing.

When we take into consideration the fact that Hipparchia was intimately associated with Crates, a man for whom she entertained the tenderest affection, and when we remember that they were both engaged in teaching a philosophy which recognized virtue as the supreme end of life, the conversation at the house of Lysimachus between Hipparchia and Theodorus, as set forth by Diogenes Laertius, will be seen to admit of a different interpretation than that which commonly prevails.

Menippus of Sinope, too, was a very eminent person in his school.

Chapter 7 Life of Hipparchia Hipparchia, the sister of Metroclus, was charmed, among others, by the doctrine of this school.

Both she and Metroclus were native of Maronia.

She fell in love with both the doctrines and the manners of Cretas, and could not be diverted from her regard for him.

Consider these facts, for it will not be possible for you to become his partner, if you do not also apply yourself to the same studies, and conform to the same habits that he does.

But the girl chosen, and assuming the same dress that he wore, went about with him as her husband, and appeared with him in public everywhere, and went to all entertainments in his company.

and once when she went to serve with lysimachus she attacked theodorus who was surnamed the atheist proposing to him the following sophism what theodorus could not be called wrong for doing that same thing hyperchia ought not to be called wrong for doing but theodorus does no wrong when he beats himself Therefore, Hipparchia does no wrong when she beats Theodorus.

He made no reply to what she said, but only pulled her clothes about.

Menippus of Sinope, too, was a very eminent person in his school.

Chapter 7 Life of Hipparchia Hipparchia, the sister of Metroclus, was charmed, among others, by the doctrine of this school.

Both she and Metroclus were native of Maronia.

She fell in love with both the doctrines and the manners of Cretas, and could not be diverted from her regard for him.

Consider these facts, for it will not be possible for you to become his partner, if you do not also apply yourself to the same studies, and conform to the same habits that he does.

But the girl chosen, and assuming the same dress that he wore, went about with him as her husband, and appeared with him in public everywhere, and went to all entertainments in his company.

and once when she went to serve with lysimachus she attacked theodorus who was surnamed the atheist proposing to him the following sophism what theodorus could not be called wrong for doing that same thing hyperchia ought not to be called wrong for doing but theodorus does no wrong when he beats himself Therefore, Hipparchia does no wrong when she beats Theodorus.

He made no reply to what she said, but only pulled her clothes about.