Philosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome

Philosophy of Ancient Greece (Hellas)

When discussing this subject, it is essential to highlight that the term "ancient" derives from the Latin word "antiquus," which literally means "old." Broadly, this term can be equivalent to the Ukrainian word for "ancient." In a narrower sense, "ancient" often refers to the historical and cultural material associated with the periods of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Chronologically, antiquity spans from the 12th century BCE to the 5th-6th centuries CE. For ease of understanding, this period is typically divided into the following phases:

1. Pre-mythological Period (12th - 7th centuries BCE).
2. Mythological Period (Homer, Hesiod, 8th - 6th centuries BCE).

III. Pre-Socratics (Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander, Parmenides, Pythagoras, etc., 5th - 4th centuries BCE).

1. Classical Period (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, 4th - 3rd centuries BCE).
2. Hellenistic Period:

• Early Hellenism: Cynics - Antisthenes (450 - 360 BCE), Diogenes (400 - 325 BCE); Hedonism - Epicurus (341 - 270 BCE); Skepticism - Pyrrho (365 - 275 BCE); Stoicism - Zeno of Citium (333 - 262 BCE), Cicero (106 - 43 BCE), Seneca (5 BCE - 65 CE), Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180 CE).
• Late Hellenism: Neoplatonists - Plotinus (circa 205 - circa 270 CE), Porphyry (circa 233 - circa 304 CE).

It is believed that contemporary European philosophy finds its roots in Ancient Greek philosophy. The Greek tribes themselves were not a unified people and did not call themselves Greeks. This name was first used by the Romans, based on one of the smaller tribes that lived in Southern Italy. The Greeks referred to themselves as Hellenes. The Hellenes likely traced their lineage to the almost unknown Pelasgians, who lived in Hellas in the 12th century BCE and later merged with tribes that migrated from Asia Minor and the northern Balkans.

Geographically, Ancient Greece bridged the East and West, situated at the crossroads of maritime and overland trade routes. Additionally, the Greeks closely interacted with civilizations such as the Egyptians, Persians, and Phoenicians, which continually introduced new elements into their lives and activities. Although we cannot yet speak of philosophy in this early period, empirical activities gradually pushed humans toward seeking theoretical generalizations of their practical skills, thus laying the groundwork for philosophical reflection on the surrounding reality.

Religious cult practitioners, poets, and sages are considered predecessors of Greek philosophers of antiquity. According to Professor T. Oizerman, the emergence of philosophy represents a gradual transition from myths to independent reflections about the world and human destiny, independent of external authorities. Individuals began to attract attention for their ability to speak on previously unknown matters. They called themselves philosophers (those who love wisdom; from the Greek words philia - love and sophia - wisdom). Initially, philosophers appeared, followed by the term "philosopher" and later "philosophy."

The so-called mythological period is seen as a transitional phase separating myth from philosophy. Thus, when examining this period, we speak not of philosophy but of its elements. History has preserved only a few names of thinkers from that distant era. One such name is Hesiod (8th - 7th centuries BCE), the first poet known by name. Two of Hesiod's poems have survived to this day, the most famous of which is the didactic-epic poem "Works and Days," describing the entire historical process as five ages, each succeeding the other in a somber sequence from the best to the worst: the "Golden Age," the "Silver Age," the "Bronze Age," the "Age of Heroes," and the most severe, the "Iron Age." In the initial "Golden Age," people lived "with a calm and clear soul, knowing not what sorrow is." Nature itself supported humanity: "The earth produced abundant crops and fertile bread." People were mortal even then, but death was gentle, as they "died as though wrapped in sleep."

In Hesiod, we already see an attempt at rationalizing myth. In his other poem, "Theogony" (the genealogy of the gods), he attempts to analyze the mythological material available to him. Hesiod contrasts his poetry with the so-called Hellenic heroic epic, portraying it as sober "truth" compared to the beautiful but "false" tales.

One of the most titanic figures of this period is Homer (8th - 7th centuries BCE), the epic poet traditionally attributed with the authorship of two of antiquity's most renowned works - the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey." Legends portray Homer as a blind wandering poet belonging to the so-called rhapsodes (professional singers who composed and performed songs accompanied by a lyre or a form of musical instrument). Seven Greek cities competed for the honor of being Homer's birthplace. The semi-legendary figure of Homer has given rise to what is known as the "Homeric Question," concerning the authorship of the poems and the identity of the poet himself. For a long time, it was believed that Homer was a composite figure, with the poems being composed by several rhapsodes and then combined into a single narrative. However, the internal unity of the poems, the consistency and coherence of the narrative, and the unified system of imagery suggest that a single author, who used several separate songs about the heroes of the Trojan War (12th century BCE) and the adventures of Odysseus to create a cohesive work, was behind them. The portrayal of Homer as blind, based on surviving busts, may also not reflect reality and might simply be a way of representing the figure in ancient sculpture (with blank eyes), which was characteristic of ancient artists.

Homer shaped the ancient world. The ancient Greek encountered his poems from childhood, carried Homeric images, ideas, and feelings within them throughout their lives. He influenced the views, tastes, and morals of the Hellenes. But he was also very much a product of his time. Homer was educated in specific traditions and ideals, so the world he depicted was one he believed in.

An anonymous poet of the 2nd century BCE best captured Homer’s essence: "Do not attempt to discover where Homer was born or who he was. All cities proudly claim to be his birthplace; The spirit is what matters, not the place. The poet's homeland is the glory of the 'Iliad' itself, the story of Odysseus."

The Hellenic world considered the wisdom of the Seven Sages as the source of philosophy. These sages included Thales, Pittacus, Solon, Bias, Chilon, and others. However, contemporary philosophy posits that antiquity had more sages, as the thinker Hermippus indicated, naming others like Aristodemus, Epimenides, Anacharsis, and Mison. The number seven likely signifies that wisdom was a rarity in those times. Yet, it is important to remember that their wisdom was not yet philosophy, as a wise saying does not necessarily denote true wisdom, and thought had not yet felt the need for rational justification.

The form of the first thought was the aphorism. Under the title "Aphorisms of the Seven Sages," the philosopher Demetrius of Phalerum (circa 360 - circa 280 BCE) compiled the essential formulas that have survived to this day. An aphorism is both a saying and a precept. Thus, these precepts are often seen inscribed on the façades of ancient temples. "Nothing in excess," advises Solon; "Only those who can submit can lead," says Bias; "Know thyself," proclaims the Spartan Chilon, and these words, inscribed on the portico of the Delphic temple, later influenced Socrates' life profoundly.

Truth was indeed valued. The aphorism articulating it required actions in accordance with this norm or attempts to embody this truth in life. A sage proclaiming the truth could even be regarded as a lawgiver in the eyes of the crowd.

Yet, philosophical thought did not originate in Greece itself but in its colonies in Asia Minor—specifically, the province of Ionia with its center in Miletus (now in Turkey)—and later developed in what is known as Magna Graecia (southern Italy and Sicily). According to late antique philosophers, the first philosopher was Thales of Miletus (625 - 547 BCE). Most of what we know about him comes from legendary accounts. It is uncertain whether Thales truly delved so deeply into the secrets of Mesopotamian priests, who taught him astronomy, that he predicted the solar eclipse of May 25, 585 BCE; or whether he actually measured the height of a massive pyramid by choosing a moment when the object's shadow equaled its height. These feats remain in the realm of legend. However, Thales is considered the progenitor of modern science not for these tales.

"Water is the beginning of everything," he claimed. Water represents the primary element from which, through physical processes, other elements—air and fire—emerge, which in turn are simple vapors of the earth, their repository. It is believed that Thales supported his reflections with practical experiments. He reasoned that everything warm requires moisture for life, any seed is moist, and all food is filled with juices, while everything dead is dry. Thales further clarified that whatever originates any essence is simultaneously the nourishing medium for these essences. Thus, the moist substance comes from water, and water is its nourishing medium; the earth absorbs water as its primary cause, standing upon it. These considerations reflect the first attempt to replace ancient mythological cosmogony with physical reasoning.

Thales also rejected polytheism (the worship of many gods), viewing it as a relic of ancient cults. For him, God, or the divine, is the "Mind of the World," where the Universe is alive and filled with daimons (spirits).

Anaximander, Thales' successor (610 - after 547 BCE), explained the world differently. He developed his own geocentric model of the cosmos and then created the first known geographical map. Anaximander is considered the author of the first philosophical work written in Greek, "On Nature," where he introduces the concept of the apeiron—an indefinite and boundless substance that is eternal and unchanging. He also introduced the term archê, referring to the origin of all things. Anaximander argued that the four elements could not generate one another, unlike Thales' view that water was the origin of other elements. Instead, physical elements have their finite forms and derive from the infinite, universal, and singular substance. Thus, the cause of formation is not the change of the element's state but the distribution of opposites due to eternal motion. The lack of written sources prevents us from fully reconstructing Anaximander’s view of the world, but later critics, like Aetius, challenged him for not specifying what he meant by the infinite—whether it was air, fire, water, or some other substance. Nonetheless, Anaximander maintained that substance itself is finite. To be born is to be finite, and to die is to return to the origin of all things. Here, Anaximander is also the first to attempt to justify the idea that humans come from another biological form, which he identified as a fish.

Another pupil of Thales in Miletus, Anaximenes (585 - 525 BCE), rejected the notion of an indefinite substance and continued to develop Thales' idea about the concreteness of the primary substance. For Anaximenes, this substance is air, which becomes fire when rarified, and transforms into wind, then cloud, earth, water, and finally stone as it is condensed. According to Anaximenes, the earth is shaped like a trapezoid hanging in the air, from which the sun, moon, and stars originate.

Anaximander’s tradition was continued by his pupil, Anaxagoras (500 - 428 BCE), who was born in Clazomenae in Ionia. Anaxagoras posited that in the beginning, the world was a unity of an immense number of infinitely small material particles. The visible bodies contain particles of all things. His motto was "Everything is in everything." For example, for grass consumed by cattle to become meat, it must contain a particle of everything. These minute elements were called homeomerias by Anaxagoras. However, Anaxagoras is more renowned for his idea of the Nous (Mind) as the architect of the world, which is distinct from its creation. Later, Plato and Aristotle, through Socrates, criticized Anaxagoras for introducing such a mysterious principle of order and motion into the physical realm, likening it to a "Deus ex machina" (God from the machine). Yet, Aristotle acknowledged Anaxagoras’s sound judgment compared to the empty talk of his predecessors, as he was the only one to assert that reason exists in nature as well as in living beings and is the fundamental cause of cosmic order.

The true glory of the Ionian philosophical school came with Heraclitus (530 - 470 BCE). Born in Ephesus, Heraclitus held the hereditary title of basileus (king-priest) but relinquished it in favor of his brother. Only one of Heraclitus’ works, "On Nature," survives in 130 fragments. In his profound and enigmatic statements, Heraclitus describes the world as an ever-living fire, from which all things come and into which they transition, similar to how commodities are exchanged for gold and gold for commodities. The world was never created but is in a constant state of flux. Heraclitus is attributed with sayings like "Everything moves, and nothing stays in place" and "New waves roll over those who step into the same river."

Heraclitus writes that fire first transformed into sea, which became half land and half "pestilence"—a hurricane of fire. The earth resembles sand at the ocean's bottom. The extinguishing of the primordial fire, which determines the course of history, paves the way downward, a path of disorder where elements disintegrate. Birth is thus division. On another path, elements that have separated can reunite to create a cosmic fire, with agreement at the end of this path. Becoming is a continuous process of births and deaths. From hot to cold, from dry to moist, bodies and souls are in a constant flow of birth; they grow and diminish. Thus, the sun is new every day, yet it is an unquenchable fire. No one can extinguish it, and it generates souls.

Heraclitus emphasizes that the death of the soul for a living being is simultaneously a continuation of life, its transformation into water, i.e., bathing in the river, bathing in the waves of death. One who sits by the river can observe how the river, warmed by the summer sun, turns into the moist vapor of mist, which gradually becomes drier. Thus, for him, becoming is cyclical. It is impossible to define the beginning and end of the cycle; the path upward and the path downward are the same. We exist and simultaneously do not exist, we enter and do not enter the same river. But the river is never the same at different times. We are never the same as ourselves. According to Heraclitus, the main goal of humanity is to make the soul "dry," bringing it closer to the "eternal fire," for a "moist soul" lives in the changing world of becoming—on the deceptive path of sensations. In Heraclitus’ teachings, we can observe the early seeds of a dualistic interpretation of reality: the mutable material world, apprehended through the senses and seen in concrete forms, is contrasted with a formless (invisible) world of the Logos, the realm of immutable and unchanging laws of being.

While the Ionians sought to understand the flow of natural phenomena, in southern Italy, philosophical schools arose that were more concerned with immutability than abstraction. Two schools emerged here, often even at odds with each other—the Pythagorean and the Eleatic.

The founder of the Pythagorean school was the philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras (571 - 497 BCE). Born on the island of Samos, Pythagoras's biography is shrouded in legend, making it difficult to separate fact from myth. It is believed that he moved to Miletus in his youth, where he joined Anaximander. Pythagoras traveled extensively in the East, studying mathematics and astronomy with Egyptian and Babylonian priests. His students claimed that during his travels in Persia, he encountered the teachings of Zoroaster. As a teacher of a secret society, he instructed his disciples to avoid eating while riding in a cart, to avoid stirring fire with a sword, to wear only linen garments, and to prohibit wool altogether. It is known that he was afraid to eat beans, which may have been one of the causes of his death.

In 532 BCE, Pythagoras settled in Croton, where he founded a religious-philosophical brotherhood—the Pythagorean society—that later seized power in Croton. Those wishing to join the Pythagorean community faced a three-year trial period and a five-year period of silence. During this time, the neophyte would relinquish all personal property to the community. If they failed the trials, their property was returned in double measure, while the unsuccessful candidate was declared "dead" (a symbolic burial stone was placed to signify their death to the Pythagorean community). Pythagoras left no written works, and those that circulated in Greece for centuries after his death were not authored by him. His disciples attributed their works to him to lend greater authority to the teachings.

At the heart of Pythagoreanism is the idea that numbers are the cause of all existence. Numerical ratios are the source of harmony in the cosmos, which was conceived as a physical-geometrical-acoustic unity known as the "harmony of the spheres." The doctrine of the harmony of the spheres was popular until the modern era. The doctrine envisions the cosmos as a specific arrangement of celestial bodies—moon, sun, five planets, and fixed stars. Each of these bodies, in its immutability, rotates around its own axis, creating a unique sound. The distances between the celestial spheres and their sounds correspond to harmonic musical intervals. The Pythagoreans attached great importance to music, viewing it through the lens of religious beliefs, believing it purified the soul. Through the mathematical study of musical sounds, they concluded that movement underlies them. Influenced by the Orphics (singers), Pythagoras advocated the doctrine of metempsychosis—reincarnation.

The world knows Pythagoras’s famous theorem: in any right-angled triangle, the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Pythagoras's contribution was formulating this theorem in its general form. The Egyptians knew this assertion long before Pythagoras but only for triangles whose sides are in the ratio 3:4:5, i.e., 32+42=523^2 + 4^2 = 5^232+42=52. Indians could also achieve a right angle by drawing a triangle in the proportion 52+122=1325^2 + 12^2 = 13^252+122=132. But Pythagoras claimed that this relationship is true for all possible right-angled triangles. Thus, the formula a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2a2+b2=c2 emerged. This meant that geometry deals with a general idea. This formula could also be interpreted in a purely social sense, likely its primary meaning—justice is the reciprocal relationship between individuals. Pythagoras’s theorem applied to the whole cosmos, linking mathematics and philosophy.

In contrast, the Eleatic school, founded by Parmenides (c. 515 - 450 BCE) in southern Italy, was concerned with immutability and began with the idea that true existence is constant and unchanging. The Eleatics, including Zeno of Elea and Melissus, challenged the Pythagorean ideas and the notion of becoming. Parmenides, the founder of the Eleatic school, argued that change is an illusion and that reality is one and unchanging. His ideas set the stage for the subsequent philosophical debate on the nature of being and becoming.

Parmenides’ teachings were continued by his student Zeno of Elea (c. 490 - 430 BCE), who, in his work "On Nature," presented his counterarguments against the concept of motion, which are more commonly known as paradoxes or aporiae. Among the many paradoxes Zeno used to challenge the notions of the whole versus its parts, immobility versus motion, and time versus space, four are particularly well-known: "The Dichotomy," "Achilles," "The Arrow," and "The Stadium." All of these paradoxes highlight the difficulties encountered when trying to understand the nature of motion. Zeno argued that motion is impossible by demonstrating that anything in motion must first cover half of a given distance, then a quarter, and so on ad infinitum. Thus, even the swift Achilles cannot overtake the tortoise, for while Achilles runs, the tortoise continues to move forward slightly, and so forth.

The third paradox aims to prove that a flying arrow is motionless. According to this paradox, during its flight, the arrow is in a specific place, and to observe it in this state, one would need to capture the arrow, but by the time this is done, the arrow will have moved to another location. From this, Zeno concludes that motion consists of an infinite number of immobile moments. Such assertions led to numerous debates, but Zeno’s intent was to demonstrate that the science of motion is fundamentally flawed. A true understanding of existence can only be achieved when it is immutable, as thought processes comprehend space, time, and motion through the lens of immobility. Therefore, it is impossible to grasp what does not exist within the realm of science.

The fifth century BCE witnessed the emergence of a new mode of philosophical thought known as sophism. The term "sophist" literally means "master." These individuals were not philosophers in the strict sense, though some of them hold a significant place in the history of philosophical thought. Sophists include Protagoras (c. 481 - 411 BCE), Critias (c. 460 - 430 BCE), Gorgias (c. 483 - 375 BCE), and others. Central to the sophists’ philosophy was the focus on human actions, perspectives, and cognitive capabilities. For a significant period, sophists were respected as teachers of "practical wisdom" in Greek society, yet they were also criticized for their vanity, being accused of caring more about the fees they received for their philosophical instruction than the actual results of their teachings. Over time, they were also accused of undermining the beliefs and traditions of Greek society, leading to their reputation as pseudo-scholars and their views being labeled as sophistry—a deliberate distortion of truth.

The story of Gorgias begins in 427 BCE when he arrived in Athens as part of an embassy seeking support for his city of Leontini (Sicily) against Syracuse. Gorgias captivated the Athenians with his eloquence and began offering paid lessons in rhetoric in Athens. His work is titled "On What Is Not, or On Nature." Gorgias argued, first, that nothing exists. Even non-being does not exist, for if it did, we would know that nothing can simultaneously exist and not exist. Similarly, being does not exist, for if it were uncreated, it would be infinite, and if it were infinite, it would be nowhere.

Second, nothing is knowable because, to understand what we think about something, that something must exist in the form we conceive of it. Thus, the world is inherently deceptive, and any judgment misleads as soon as it is made. A sage has no right to claim that they have explained all phenomena through logical deductions. Each person should strive to engage with the world using the power of speech. The only useful knowledge lies in the ability to handle circumstances and understand what is beneficial and what is not. A sophist is adept at exploiting appearances to his advantage.

Protagoras had similar conclusions, though he approached them differently. He hailed from the Thracian city of Abdera and initially worked as a porter in Athens but later turned to rhetoric due to his natural talents. For Protagoras, reality always confirms conclusions that can be mutually exclusive. For example, he cites the case of a spectator dying during a javelin throw. The doctor attributes the death to the javelin, the judge blames the thrower, and the magistrate holds the organizer responsible. Thus, the search for truth requires abandoning a single universal perspective. But if a true, correct, and absolutely adequate understanding does exist, finding it is impossible. Thus, the concept of relativity is introduced into philosophy.

Protagoras’ assertion that "Man is the measure of all things" means not only that different people form different judgments about the same things but also emphasizes that by engaging with reality through judgment, a person appropriates it—"measuring reality."

In the latter half of the 5th century BCE, a formidable counter to sophism emerged in the figure of Socrates (469 - 399 BCE). Son of the sculptor Sophroniscus and the midwife Phaenarete, who served in the temple of Artemis, Socrates is still regarded as the epitome of the true philosopher. His inner essence was vastly different from his outer appearance: his unattractive figure concealed an extraordinary strength of spirit and body. Behind his often ridiculed nose, his unusually high forehead, and his swollen eyes that made him resemble a crab, lay an unwavering will that inspired admiration in all who knew him. During a harsh winter campaign to Potidea, only Socrates remained unaffected by the cold. He was never seen drunk at festivals, although he could drink more than others. Socrates always asserted that a person cannot be evil by their own will. We know of no written works by him. The image and sayings attributed to Socrates come from his disciples—Xenophon, Plato, and Aristotle.

Socrates claimed to apply the same art of maieutics as his mother, only instead of helping people give birth to children, he assisted them in giving birth to the truth. Socrates' views are summarized in three theses:

1. The highest good for a person is virtue. He believed that justice, courage, and mastery over passions are characteristics inherent to all people regardless of age or gender. In contrast to the sophists, who argued that all things are relative.
2. Virtues are closely related to happiness and utility, with utility understood as the common good. Therefore, a truly happy person is one who performs good deeds.
3. Virtues are expressions of a level of knowledge. Any evil is a result of unconscious actions, ignorance. When a person commits evil, they reveal their own baseness.

Socrates’ student, Plato of Athens (May 27, 427 - 347 BCE), inherited many of his teacher’s ideas. Plato’s real name was Aristocles, son of Ariston, from the lineage of the ancient king Codrus and Perictione, who was related to the Athenian legislator Solon (one of the seven classical sages of Hellas). "Plato" means "broad-shouldered," a name he received due to his participation in pankration and the Great Panathenian games.

After Socrates' execution in 399 BCE, Plato left Athens for Megara, then Egypt and Cyrene, and traveled extensively in Southern Italy. In 387 BCE, he returned to Athens and founded a philosophical school in the gardens of Akademia, near the city of Colonus, which later became known as the Academy.

We know indirectly about Plato’s oral teachings, which were grounded in mathematical principles. It is said that the words "Let no one ignorant of geometry enter here" were inscribed on the Academy’s entrance. On one occasion, when Plato was discussing the concept of the good, his audience dispersed without understanding him, leaving only Aristotle, who was familiar with mathematical proofs. Plato’s disdain for written works, inherited from Socrates, suggests that his dialogues do not fully convey the philosophy, ethics, and politics he taught his students.

Platonism seeks to explain the world through the understanding of the essence of sensory reality, revealing unity within multiplicity, number within space. Plato systematically applied two methods in his teaching. The first method aimed to reveal unity within plurality, comparing it to a swarm of bees. The second method, using the scalpel of dialectics, involved dividing genus into species and examining the links of unity to its furthest limits. Essentially, these methods represent two levels of the same approach.

In his work "The Republic," Plato proposes creating a verbal image of the soul using ancient mythical creatures—Chimera, Scylla, and Cerberus. He writes: "Create the image of a beast, many-headed and many-faced, and also an image of a lion and an image of a man, with the hydra being much larger than the lion, and the lion larger than the man. Combine these three images into one and give it a human appearance." Such manifestations of the soul should correspond to three virtues, if they are possible within a passionate soul. Wisdom should be the property and virtue of every rational governance. Courage is not a virtue of reason but resides in the heart—it is the virtue of a warrior, characterized by obedience to the commander and enmity toward the foe. Various revived passions of the beast require temperance, which is not inherent to the defeated but to the self-assured victors. However, these three virtues can be unified in one—justice. Justice is inherent in a person; it does not characterize a specific act but defines the person itself. Injustice is chaos, disharmony in three forms—intemperance, cowardice, and baseness.

Plato’s words from the dialogue "Gorgias" might be considered truly "golden": "Let them consider you mad, let them disdain you, laugh at you, but if you think you are right, do not be afraid to think otherwise."

The philosopher believed that for a well-ordered life, it is crucial that our pleasures and pains align with concepts of good and evil. Thus, Aristotle's "Ethics" and "Politics" not only address the nature of good and evil but, more importantly, focus on pleasure and pain. For Aristotle, the essence of morality lies not in the nature of the Good but in the character of human actions, particularly in what constitutes the element of pleasure in a given act. Virtues, according to Aristotle, are traits that a person possesses consistently and often turn into habits. They represent an inherent potential within a person, even when not actively needed. Thus, these acquired qualities, a result of education, are intrinsically linked to our essence and cannot be taken away from us, as the sage Bias is reputed to have said: "I carry all my own."

Among human faculties, Aristotle valued reason the most, considering it the divine aspect within humans and the best reflection of our nature. While ethical virtues require an object for their realization, gods, unbound by resources and risks, demonstrate examples of courage and possess absolute happiness. Essentially, for Aristotle, human life is governed by reason because humans are fundamentally rational beings. A sage should live according to principles that would be most pleasing to the gods. Therefore, when a person can, even for a moment, touch upon rational living and feel a kinship with the gods, it signifies that they have lived their life worthily and achieved their fundamental goals.

Unlike Plato, Aristotle defined existence not as a matter of intellectual knowledge but as a result of the human mode of being, which integrates sensory perception with reason. For Aristotle, what exists in reality, what is stable in its being, is defined as substance. This substance can be born or perish, exhibit certain unique properties, and, most importantly, it is the subject of our knowledge and thought. The philosopher attempts to merge philosophy with the interpretation of the real world, understanding substance in four types:

1. A concrete subject (Socrates, Plato - an oak, a dog);
2. What we "see" with reason in the concrete, what a thing is (Plato - a person thinks; a dog guards);
3. A subject composed of elements - matter and form;
4. Our conception of substance, a general idea that supplements the concrete subject.

Teaching at the Academy and Lyceum, though primarily focused on rhetoric, continued until the 6th century CE. The influence of Platonism and Aristotelianism was long-lasting and left a mark on both scholasticism and the general development of philosophical thought. The decline of Athens and the end of the Alexandrian era generated new doubts. Questions that the Academy and Aristotelianism had not answered clearly came to the forefront. The evolving worldview seemed to hint at the correctness of the Cyrenaics, who believed that the highest good and happiness lay not in moderation but in the pursuit of pleasure. The future is so uncertain that only a fool would reject the pleasures coming his way. Pleasure is so fleeting that it must be fully embraced and sought after again and again. A person should give in to their desires, says Callicles in Plato's "Gorgias," and when they do not find what they seek, they must acknowledge that happiness does not exist and die, as Hegesias suggested, advising those who wish to be wise to forego food.

Against the hedonists stood the Cynics, who became philosophers through their deprivation. Diogenes of Sinope (c. 400 - 325 BCE), a prominent representative of Cynicism, exemplified his philosophy through a life of extreme asceticism, occasionally bordering on eccentricity. Diogenes lived with only the essentials, resided in a barrel, called his dog his friend, and roamed Athens with a lantern in broad daylight, searching for a human. Upon seeing a child drinking from his hands, Diogenes broke his bowl, as it was now useless to him.

However, the most popular schools became Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Skepticism, which found a renewed life in Roman society. Epicurus (341 - 270 BCE), the founder of Epicureanism, was likely born on the island of Samos. He studied at the Academy and the Lyceum. At 30, he founded schools in Mytilene and Lampsacus. In Athens, he purchased a garden where he taught philosophy. He remained in contemporary memory as a gentle and reserved man, yet one who had the courage to celebrate his happy final day of life. Nevertheless, his image was long distorted, and his philosophy often misunderstood. This distortion was perpetuated by those who, under the guise of Epicureanism, hid their passion for luxury and debauchery.

Epicurus aimed primarily to rid people of religious superstitions. To free people from the fear of death, he restricted the world to what we perceive through the senses. He believed that the soul could not exist without the body, as it must be corporeal, implying its mortality. Smells, sounds, and light are also material. The ideal of Epicurean wisdom is ataraxia (tranquility). The highest good is to be self-sufficient and content with little. Epicurus said that anyone who confuses true pleasure with the pleasure of indulgence misunderstands his teachings. The pleasure he spoke of is the absence of physical pain and mental distress. Philosophy, for Epicurus, is an activity that leads us to a happy life through reflection and reasoning. Even the pursuit of knowledge can be pleasurable, and knowledge itself is akin to medicine that alleviates suffering. These "medicines" include:

• Fear of deities is unnecessary, as they neither know anger nor favor (a trait of the weak);
• Death cannot affect the senses; it is irrelevant to humans (Epicurus said: "While we are alive, death is not present; and when death comes, we no longer exist");
• Goods are easily attainable because pleasure is the absence of pain;
• Suffering is always bearable, and continuous pain is brief.

Epicureans taught: focus on oneself, dispel passions, learn from the wise, enjoy perfect peace of mind, laugh at fortune, and do not consider chance as a deity; disregard day and night, and you will never be like mortals, living among people as a god.

Like the Epicureans, the early Stoics taught that there is no reality beyond the physical, and only wise behavior can alleviate anxieties and mental suffering. Stoicism spans nearly five centuries and includes three Greco-Roman generations of Stoics. The three founders of Stoicism—Zeno of Citium (c. 336 - c. 264 BCE), Cleanthes, and Chrysippus (c. 280 - c. 208/205 BCE)—became philosophers by chance.

Zeno, a bankrupt merchant after losing his ships, accidentally read Xenophon's commentary on Socrates' sayings while traveling from Thebes to Crates. He asked the shopkeeper where he could find people like Socrates and was directed to the philosophers. Zeno later thanked fate for leading him to philosophy.

Cleanthes arrived in Athens with just four drachmas but was so strong that he carried water for watering gardens by night and recorded Zeno's lectures on ox bones during the day due to lack of funds for better material. Though laughed at, his dedication impressed Zeno, who made Cleanthes a teacher in his school.

The poor runner Chrysippus wrote about 700 works. He was such a master dialectician that he is considered the father of Stoicism. Chrysippus claimed he would study dialectics if he learned of anyone better than himself, but no better could be found. He was the only philosopher who died laughing, watching a donkey eat his fruits while a servant poured him more wine.

Stoics, known for their restraint, frugality, and disdain for vanity and luxury, maintained their peace even in noisy crowds. None became wealthy, but they were respected more than any rich man. Their moderation became legendary, and their contempt for power was remembered through the ages. Since Zeno conducted his teachings in the Stoa (porch), the school became known as Stoic.

In Stoicism, matter is divine and endowed with soul, and God is that matter. Zeus and Jupiter, spirit and fate, are warm fluids spread throughout the world. The sun, praised by Cleanthes, is the organizing fire and creator, guiding the cosmos through a chain of causes. According to Zeno and Chrysippus, the essence of God is the totality of the world and heaven. Spirit, or Logos, defines the order of things, creates the cosmos and world fate, and the entire world is pervaded by the breath of spirit. If the world perishes, it will inevitably be restored to its former state. Thus, Chrysippus said there will be new Socrates and Plato, and everyone will be reborn with the same friends and contemporaries, continuing eternally. All things are constantly renewed according to the rhythm of eternal recurrence. Time is the image of eternity.

To understand and know nature is to realize that nothing is alien to being, that the lion's maw and deadly poisons existing alongside the most beautiful and pure beings are not evil but add additional attractiveness to the world. Everything that happens to a person is just and cannot be otherwise; the human soul is an emanation of the cosmic soul, and human emotional disturbances are part of the Universe. The tragedy of humanity is its separation from the cosmic soul, its potential to deviate from the world's harmony. Thus, the peculiar nature of Stoic morality emerges: the sage is free even in chains, and true wealth lies in complete nakedness. Therefore, a true sage preserves their life when losing it. Stoics felt sympathy for the world that fools considered chaotic but did not wish to abandon it.

A contemporary of Epicurus, Aristotle, and Zeno, Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360 - c. 270 BCE), was considered a skeptic. He was the first to teach that it is impossible to know reality and that nothing could be known as true or false, thus abandoning the idea of knowledge. The aim of skepticism was to live a peaceful life free from anxiety, freed from judgments about good or bad and the fear of divine retribution. Skeptics were also called Academics.