PHILOSOPHY • ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY HISTORICAL DICTIONARY Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements, No. 78 OF ANCIENT PREUS GREEK Philosophy Not only were the ancient Greeks founders of Western philosophy, but they also invented the term philosophy, most likely dating back to Pythagoras in the late sixth century BC. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Euclid, and Thales are but a few of the better-known thinkers DICTIONARY HISTORICAL HISTORICAL of ancient Greece. During the amazingly fertile period from the middle of the first millennium BC to the middle of the first millennium AD, the world saw the rise of science, schools of thought, and—many believe— the birth of modern civilization. Historical Dictionary of Ancient Greek OF Philosophy presents the history of Greek philosophy and the philosophers GREEK Philosophy ANCIENT who made it famous through a chronology, an introduction, a glossary, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important philosophers, concepts, issues, and events. ANTHONY PREUS is professor of philosophy at Binghamton University, New York. He is the author of Science and Philosophy in Aristotle’s Biological Works (1975) and Aristotle and Michael of Ephesus on the Movement and Progression of Animals (1981). For orders and information please contact the publisher SCARECROW PRESS, INC. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5487-1 Lanham, Maryland 20706 ISBN-10: 0-8108-5487-2 1-800-462-6420 • fax 717-794-3803 www.scarecrowpress.com Cover photo: © Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis Cover design by Allison Nealon ANTHONY PREUS HD Ancient Greek Philosophy_LITH1 1 6/27/07 8:06:17 AM 07_210_1FM.qxd 6/27/07 3:30 PM Page i HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF RELIGIONS, PHILOSOPHIES, AND MOVEMENTS Jon Woronoff, Series Editor 1. Buddhism, by Charles S. Prebish, 1993. 2. Mormonism, by Davis Bitton, 1994. Out of print. See no. 32. 3. Ecumenical Christianity, by Ans Joachim van der Bent, 1994. 4. Terrorism, by Sean Anderson and Stephen Sloan, 1995. Out of print. See no. 41. 5. Sikhism, by W. H. McLeod, 1995. Out of print. See no. 59. 6. Feminism, by Janet K. Boles and Diane Long Hoeveler, 1995. Out of print. See no. 52. 7. Olympic Movement, by Ian Buchanan and Bill Mallon, 1995. Out of print. See no. 39. 8. Methodism, by Charles Yrigoyen Jr. and Susan E. Warrick, 1996. Out of print. See no. 57. 9. Orthodox Church, by Michael Prokurat, Alexander Golitzin, and Michael D. Peterson, 1996. 10. Organized Labor, by James C. Docherty, 1996. Out of print. See no. 50. 11. Civil Rights Movement, by Ralph E. Luker, 1997. 12. Catholicism, by William J. Collinge, 1997. 13. Hinduism, by Bruce M. Sullivan, 1997. 14. North American Environmentalism, by Edward R. Wells and Alan M. Schwartz, 1997. 15. Welfare State, by Bent Greve, 1998. Out of print. See no. 63. 16. Socialism, by James C. Docherty, 1997. Out of print. See no. 73. 17. Bahá’í Faith, by Hugh C. Adamson and Philip Hainsworth, 1998. Out of print. See no. 71. 18. Taoism, by Julian F. Pas in cooperation with Man Kam Leung, 1998. 19. Judaism, by Norman Solomon, 1998. Out of print. See no. 69. 20. Green Movement, by Elim Papadakis, 1998. 21. Nietzscheanism, by Carol Diethe, 1999. Out of print. See No. 75. 22. Gay Liberation Movement, by Ronald J. Hunt, 1999. 23. Islamic Fundamentalist Movements in the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey, by Ahmad S. Moussalli, 1999. 24. Reformed Churches, by Robert Benedetto, Darrell L. Guder, and Donald K. McKim, 1999. 07_210_1FM.qxd 6/26/07 5:55 AM Page ii 25. Baptists, by William H. Brackney, 1999. 26. Cooperative Movement, by Jack Shaffer, 1999. 27. Reformation and Counter-Reformation, by Hans J. Hillerbrand, 2000. 28. Shakers, by Holley Gene Duffield, 2000. 29. United States Political Parties, by Harold F. Bass Jr., 2000. 30. Heidegger’s Philosophy, by Alfred Denker, 2000. 31. Zionism, by Rafael Medoff and Chaim I. Waxman, 2000. 32. Mormonism, 2nd ed., by Davis Bitton, 2000. 33. Kierkegaard’s Philosophy, by Julia Watkin, 2001. 34. Hegelian Philosophy, by John W. Burbidge, 2001. 35. Lutheranism, by Günther Gassmann in cooperation with Duane H. Larson and Mark W. Oldenburg, 2001. 36. Holiness Movement, by William Kostlevy, 2001. 37. Islam, by Ludwig W. Adamec, 2001. 38. Shinto, by Stuart D. B. Picken, 2002. 39. Olympic Movement, 2nd ed., by Ian Buchanan and Bill Mallon, 2001. Out of print. See no. 61. 40. Slavery and Abolition, by Martin A. Klein, 2002. 41. Terrorism, 2nd ed., by Sean Anderson and Stephen Sloan, 2002. 42. New Religious Movements, by George D. Chryssides, 2001. 43. Prophets in Islam and Judaism, by Scott B. Noegel and Brannon M. Wheeler, 2002. 44. The Friends (Quakers), by Margery Post Abbott, Mary Ellen Chijioke, Pink Dandelion, and John William Oliver Jr., 2003. 45. Lesbian Liberation Movement: Still the Rage, JoAnne Myers, 2003. 46. Descartes and Cartesian Philosophy, by Roger Ariew, Dennis Des Chene, Douglas M. Jesseph, Tad M. Schmaltz, and Theo Verbeek, 2003. 47. Witchcraft, by Michael D. Bailey, 2003. 48. Unitarian Universalism, by Mark W. Harris, 2004. 49. New Age Movements, by Michael York, 2004. 50. Organized Labor, 2nd ed., by James C. Docherty, 2004. 51. Utopianism, by James M. Morris and Andrea L. Kross, 2004. 52. Feminism, 2nd ed., by Janet K. Boles and Diane Long Hoeveler, 2004. 53. Jainism, by Kristi L. Wiley, 2004. 07_210_1FM.qxd 6/26/07 5:55 AM Page iii 54. Wittgenstein’s Philosophy, by Duncan Richter, 2004. 55. Schopenhauer’s Philosophy, by David E. Cartwright, 2005. 56. Seventh-Day Adventists, by Gary Land, 2005. 57. Methodism, 2nd ed., by Charles Yrigoyen Jr. and Susan Warrick, 2005. 58. Sufism, by John Renard, 2005. 59. Sikhism, 2nd ed., by W. H. McLeod, 2005. 60. Kant and Kantianism, by Helmut Holzhey and Vilem Mudroch, 2005. 61. Olympic Movement, 3rd ed., by Bill Mallon with Ian Buchanan, 2006. 62. Anglicanism, by Colin Buchanan, 2006. 63. Welfare State, 2nd ed., by Bent Greve, 2006. 64. Feminist Philosophy, by Catherine Villanueva Gardner, 2006. 65. Logic, by Harry J. Gensler, 2006. 66. Leibniz’s Philosophy, by Stuart Brown and Nicholas J. Fox, 2006. 67. Non-Aligned Movement and Third World, by Guy Arnold, 2006. 68. Salvation Army, by Major John G. Merritt, 2006. 69. Judaism, 2nd ed., by Norman Solomon, 2006. 70. Epistemology, by Ralph Baergen, 2006. 71. Bahá’í Faith, by Hugh Adamson, 2006. 72. Aesthetics, by Dabney Townsend, 2006. 73. Socialism, 2nd ed., by Peter Lamb and James C. Docherty, 2007. 74. Marxism, by David M. Walker and Daniel Gray, 2007. 75. Nietzscheanism, 2nd ed., by Carol Diethe, 2007. 76. Medieval Philosophy and Theology, by Stephen F. Brown and Juan Carlos Flores, 2007. 77. Shamanism, by Graham Harvey and Robert Wallis, 2007. 78. Ancient Greek Philosophy, by Anthony Preus, 2007. 79. Puritans, by Charles Pastoor and Galen K. Johnson, 2007. 07_210_1FM.qxd 6/26/07 5:55 AM Page iv 07_210_1FM.qxd 6/26/07 5:55 AM Page v Historical Dictionary of Ancient Greek Philosophy Anthony Preus Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements, No. 78 The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth, UK 2007 07_210_1FM.qxd 6/26/07 5:55 AM Page vi SCARECROW PRESS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2007 by Anthony Preus All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Preus, Anthony. Historical dictionary of ancient Greek philosophy / Anthony Preus. p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of religions, philosophies, and movements ; no. 78) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5487-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8108-5487-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Philosophy, Ancient–Dictionaries. I. Title. B111.P74 2007 180.3–dc22 2006039368 ϱ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America. 07_210_1FM.qxd 6/27/07 3:31 PM Page vii Contents Editor’s Foreword Jon Woronoff ix Citations and Abbreviations xi Note on Transliterating Greek Characters to English xv Chronology xix Introduction 1 THE DICTIONARY 31 Glossary 283 Bibliography 307 About the Author 345 vii 07_210_1FM.qxd 6/26/07 5:55 AM Page viii 07_210_1FM.qxd 6/26/07 5:55 AM Page ix Editor’s Foreword In some ways, this volume is the cornerstone for the many others in the subseries on philosophy, just as the Ancient Greco-Roman world pro- vided a cornerstone not only for medieval and modern Western philos- ophy but also Islamic philosophy and thinking elsewhere. The period of the “ancients,” running from roughly the middle of the first millennium BC to the middle of the first millennium AD, was amazingly fertile, heavily influenced by Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, as well as dozens of other philosophers. The period saw some of the earliest valid work on what remain major fields of philosophy, particularly epistemology, logic, and ethics, and the trail was blazed the way in others. Obviously, some—perhaps most—of this thought has since been revised, and many supposed “answers” have turned out to be wrong as our interests and emphases have shifted.