FEMALE PHILOSOPHERS WHO HELPED SHAPE MODERN THOUGHT

By El Ochiis

Some of the greatest literary writers wrote philosophical fiction. I took a philosophy course in Athens, in college; actually, the reason I had travelled to Greece was to study philosophy, but, I did not need to venture that far to learn any more about, Socrates, Plato or Aristotle. No, I journeyed there to find out about some of the most famous, or, should I have said, infamous philosophers that interested me:

“What - who are you talking about?” Demanded Professor Skoplitius, when I raised my hand to ask about Aspasia of Miletus’ influence on Plato. 

“Her house became a center for intellectuals in Athens,” I stated, breathlessly. 

“Are you a Moroccan, no, you couldn’t be, where are you from?” Mr. Skoplitius queried. 

“My passport and birth certificate officiated in the states,” I offered, uneasily, since anyone I had ever met in Europe considered me anything but American. I wasn’t sure if I should have been insulted that he had estimated that I couldn’t be from Morocco, however. 

“This is most strange, I, I never met no one who speak of this, for which you are so passionate, tell us more,” he challenged, pushing his glasses further down a nose that appeared as if it had been carved onto his face. 

“Ahem, well, there were three I find quite intriguing: Aspasia, Clea and Thecla, I rattled off from my notebook, barely pronouncing their names correctly."

I had written my final paper on the largely unknown female philosophers of Ancient Greece, it was that paper that got me nominated to take the trip to study in Athens. The professor at the university in New York was not happy about my choice of subject matter, however, he did not know enough about these women to add much pros or cons.

Professor Skopltius, on the other hand, tolerated my intrusion of his class in the classic males of Greek philosophy; He half-heartedly read to the class, in an acerbic monotone: 

"Aspasia was born in the Greek city of Miletus (today’s providence Aydin, Turkey). Her family must have been quite wealthy due to the excellent education the young woman received. It was uncertain just why she came to Athens – however, her house became a center for intellectuals in Athens. It was assumed that even Socrates spent much time discussing in her home and, that her teaching would have influenced Socrates, the most important of all Greek philosophers. Though little is known of her, she appears in the writings of Plato, Aristophanes, of Miletus Xenophon and other Greek philosophers. 

Clea was the teacher of Pythagoras, the great philosopher-mathematician from Samos, who has been called the ‘father of philosopher’. It has been also claimed that Pythagoras may have derived his ethical doctrines from her. 

Thecla first appeared on the scene, in the Acts of Paul and Thecla, leading a normal middle-class life, sequestered at home and about to make an advantageous marriage. But leaning out of her balcony, she hears the dynamic preaching of Paul and decides on a radically different path. As priestess at Delphi, she held a highly esteemed political and intellectual role in the ancient world – religious practitioners at the shrine received frequent requests from world leaders for divine advice about political matters. She found many opportunities for in-depth philosophical conversations with Plutarch, the most famous intellectual of his time.

There were a few more: Sosipatra; Macrina the Younger; Diotima of Mantinea; Hypatia of Alexandria; Leontion; Theano; Arignote; Arete of Cyrene; and, Perictione." 

As writers, we should be mindful of the women who shaped modern thought and who influenced the well-known philosophers – the next time you are quoting what you believe are male Greek philosophers, you may just be quoting a female: “I dream of a world where there are neither masters nor slave.” Arete of Cyrene.