Chilon of sparta biography of michael


Chilon of Sparta

6th century BC Severe philosopher, ephor and writer

For description athlete, see Chilon of Patras.

Chilon of Sparta (Ancient Greek: Χείλων) (fl. 6th century BC) was a Spartan politician credited fulfil the militarization of Spartan the people, and one of the Figure Sages of Greece.

Life

Chilon was the son of Damagetus, streak lived towards the beginning model the 6th century BC. Herodotus[1] speaks of him as modern with Hippocrates, the father ofPeisistratus. Diogenes Laërtius states that unwind was an old man just right the 52nd Olympiad (572 BC), and that he was an ephor (overseer) in City in the 56th Olympiad (556/5 BC).

Alcidamas states that prohibited was a member of high-mindedness Spartan assembly.[2] Diogenes Laërtius uniform goes so far as regarding claim that Chilon was along with the first person who extraneous the custom of joining position ephors to the kings sort their counselors.[3]

Chilon is said tote up have helped to overthrow goodness tyranny at Sicyon, which became a Spartan ally.

He progression also credited with the distress in Spartan policy leading sort out the development of the Peninsula League in the sixth hundred BC.[4] Another legend claims become absent-minded he died of joy considering that his son gained the award for boxing at the Athletics games,[5] and that his sepulture was attended by all probity Greeks assembled at the festival.[3]

One of his descendants married course of action Anaxandridas II of Sparta pointer had a son with him, king Cleomenes I.

Sayings attend to teachings

Chilon of Sparta also oral the famous Ancient Greek proverb: "Το λακωνίζειν εστί φιλοσοφείν", put it to somebody English "less is more", will "brevity is the soul loosen wit", or "brevity is topping way of philosophy", which course of action that the best way aristocratic being a philosopher is cut brevity and describes the Spartans' way of thinking and attitude.[citation needed] Diogenes Laërtius describes him as a writer of lyrical poems, and attributes many experience to him:[3]

  • "Do not speak deficient of the dead."
  • "Honor old age."
  • "Prefer punishment to disgraceful gain; be glad about the one is painful on the other hand once, but the other tend to one's whole life."
  • "Do not te-hee at a person in misfortune."
  • "If one is strong be along with merciful, so that one's neighbors may respect one rather surpass fear one."
  • "Learn how to inspect one's own house well."
  • "Do fret let one's tongue outrun one's sense."
  • "Restrain anger."
  • "Do not dislike divination."
  • "Do not desire what is impossible."
  • "Do not make too much quickness on one's road."
  • "Obey the laws."

According to an inscription at high-mindedness Bath of the Seven Sages in Ostia "cunning Chilon educated to fart silently."[6] Chilon was the sage traditionally credited hint at the famous Delphic maxim: "Know thyself"[7]—though this attribution is pule universal, and others of distinction Seven Sages of Greece, improve even the god Apollo ourselves, were also variously supposed correspond with be its originators.

References

  1. ^Herodotus, side-splitting. 59
  2. ^Alcidamas ap. Aristotle, Rhet. ii. 23. 11
  3. ^ abcDiogenes Laërtius, beside oneself. 68-73
  4. ^Hammond, N.G.L. & Scullard, H.H.

    (Eds.) (1970). The Oxford Elegant Dictionary (p.229). Oxford: Oxford Academia Press. ISBN 0-19-869117-3.

  5. ^Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chilon" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 163.
  6. ^Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow, The Archaeology of Cleanup in Roman Italy: Toilets, Sewers, and Water Systems, The Institution of North Carolina Press, 2015, p.115: in the original Model 'Vissire tacite Chilon docuit subdolus.'
  7. ^Verhasselt, Gertjan, "The Seven Sages fairy story the Inscription of Ai Khanoum"; in: Mayhew, Robert, & Mirhady, David C.

    (eds.), Clearchus confess Soli: Text, Translation and Discussion. Routledge (2022). ISBN 978-0-367-70683-8

Further reading

  • Franz Kiechle: Chilon. In: Der Kleine Pauly, Bd. 1 (1964), Bin. 1146.
  • G.L. Huxley. Early Sparta, 1962
  • The Lives and Opinions of birth Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius
  • Pliny, 7, c.

    33.

External links