Paconius Agrippinus

Last updated

Paconius Agrippinus was a Stoic philosopher of the 1st century. [1] His father was put to death by the Roman emperor Tiberius on a charge of treason. [2] Agrippinus himself was accused at the same time as Thrasea, around 67 AD, and was banished from Italy. [3] [4] As a philosopher he was spoken of with praise by Epictetus. [5]

His Works

Though Agrippinus's works are not known or preserved, much of our knowledge comes from the discourses of Epictetus. In order to explain to his learners how a Stoic should behave, Epictetus also used popular historical figures. Agrippinus, because of his ability to go against popular sentiment and remain oblivious to happenings beyond his influence, was one of those figures. It may seem curious that while there are no great works or books credited to his name, Agrippinus is known as a philosopher.

Related Research Articles

Epictetus Roman Era Stoic Philosopher

Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece for the rest of his life. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses and Enchiridion.

<i>Enchiridion of Epictetus</i>

The Enchiridion or Handbook of Epictetus is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice compiled by Arrian, a 2nd-century disciple of the Greek philosopher Epictetus. Although the content is mostly derived from the Discourses of Epictetus, it is not a summary of the Discourses but rather a compilation of practical precepts. Eschewing metaphysics, Arrian focuses his attention on Epictetus's work applying philosophy to daily life. The book is thus a manual to show the way to achieve mental freedom and happiness in all circumstances.

Gaius Musonius Rufus was a Roman Stoic philosopher of the 1st century AD. He taught philosophy in Rome during the reign of Nero and so was sent into exile in 65 AD, returning to Rome only under Galba. He was allowed to stay in Rome when Vespasian banished all other philosophers from the city in 71 AD although he was eventually banished anyway, returning only after Vespasian's death. A collection of extracts from his lectures still survives. He is also remembered for being the teacher of Epictetus.

Epaphroditus (freedman of Nero) 1st century Roman freedman and secretary to Emperor Nero

Epaphroditos, Tiberios Klaudios Epaphroditos or Tiberius Claudius Epaphroditus or Epaphroditus, was a freedman and secretary of the Roman Emperor Nero. He was later executed by Domitian for failing to prevent Nero's suicide.

Alcinous was a Middle Platonist philosopher. He probably lived in the 2nd century AD, although nothing is known about his life. He is the author of The Handbook of Platonism, an epitome of Middle Platonism intended as a manual for teachers. He has, at times, been identified by some scholars with the 2nd century Middle Platonist Albinus.

Archedemus of Tarsus was a Stoic philosopher who flourished around 140 BC. Two of his works: On the Voice and On Elements, are mentioned by Diogenes Laërtius.

<i>Discourses of Epictetus</i>

The Discourses of Epictetus are a series of informal lectures by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus written down by his pupil Arrian around 108 AD. Four books out of an original eight are still extant. The philosophy of Epictetus is intensely practical. He directs his students to focus attention on their opinions, anxieties, passions and desires, so that "they may never fail to get what they desire, nor fall into what they avoid." True education lies in learning to distinguish what is our own from what does not belong to us, and in learning to correctly assent or dissent to external impressions. The purpose of his teaching was to make people free and happy.

Apollodorus was an Epicurean philosopher, and head of the Epicurean school in Athens.

Euphrates was an eminent Stoic philosopher, who lived c. 35–118 AD.

Quintus Lucilius Balbus was a Stoic philosopher and a pupil of Panaetius.

Apollonius of Tyre, was a Stoic philosopher.

Attalus was a Stoic philosopher in the reign of Tiberius around 25 AD. He was defrauded of his property by Sejanus, and exiled where he was reduced to cultivating the ground. The elder Seneca describes him as a man of great eloquence, and by far the acutest philosopher of his age.

Hermagoras of Amphipolis was a Stoic philosopher, student of Cypriot Persaeus, in the court of Antigonus II Gonatas. He wrote several dialogues, among them a Misokyōn ; one volume On Misfortunes; Έκχυτος Ekchytos ; On Sophistry addressed to the Academics. None of his works are known to survive.

Diocles of Magnesia was an ancient Greek writer from Magnesia ad Sipylum, who probably lived in the 2nd or 1st century BC. The claim that he is the Diocles to whom Meleager of Gadara dedicated his anthology is questionable. He authored works entitled Ἐπιδρομὴ τῶν φιλοσόφων and Περὶ βίων φιλοσόφων, both important sources for Diogenes Laërtius's work about the lives and opinions of eminent Greek philosophers, especially the Cynics and Stoics. Nothing more is known about his life and works.

The Imperial Library of Constantinople, in the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, was the last of the great libraries of the ancient world. Long after the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria and the other ancient libraries, it preserved the knowledge of the ancient Greeks and Romans for almost 1,000 years. A series of unintentional fires over the years and wartime damage, including the raids of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, impacted the building itself and its contents. Donald Queller notes that there is no indication of the continued existence of a formal imperial library at the time and no source mentions lost manuscripts. While there were many reports of texts surviving into the Ottoman era, no substantive portion of the library has ever been recovered. The library was founded by Constantius II who established a Scriptorium so that the surviving works of Greek literature could be copied for preservation. The Emperor Valens in 372 employed four Greek and three Latin calligraphers. The majority of Greek classics known today are known through Byzantine copies originating from the Imperial Library of Constantinople.

Alexander of Aegae was a Peripatetic philosopher who flourished in Rome in the 1st century AD, and was a disciple of the celebrated mathematician Sosigenes of Alexandria. He was tutor to the emperor Nero. He wrote commentaries on the Categories and the De Caelo of Aristotle. Attempts in the 19th century to ascribe some of the works of Alexander of Aphrodisias to Alexander of Aegae have been shown to be mistaken.

Stoicism School of Hellenistic Greek philosophy

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC. It is a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world. According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to eudaimonia is found in accepting the moment as it presents itself, by not allowing oneself to be controlled by the desire for pleasure or by the fear of pain, by using one's mind to understand the world and to do one's part in nature's plan, and by working together and treating others fairly and justly.

Apollonides of Nicaea lived in the time of the Roman emperor Tiberius, to whom he dedicated a commentary on the Silloi of the Pyrrhonist philosopher Timon of Phlius. Diogenes Laërtius, in his Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, mentions Apollonides in a way that can be interpreted that both he and Apollonides were Pyrrhonists.

The gens Paconia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens obtained any of the higher offices of the Roman state in the time of the Republic, but Aulus Paconius Sabinus held the consulship in AD 58, during the reign of Nero.

Stoic Opposition

The Stoic Opposition is the name given to a group of Stoic philosophers who actively opposed the autocratic rule of certain emperors in the 1st-century, particularly Nero and Domitian. Most prominent among them was Thrasea Paetus, an influential Roman senator executed by Nero. They were held in high regard by the later Stoics Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Thrasea, Rubellius Plautus and Barea Soranus were reputedly students of the famous Stoic teacher Musonius Rufus and as all three were executed by Nero they became known collectively as the 'Stoic Martyrs'.

References

  1. Smith, William (1867), "Agrippinus, Paconius", in Smith, William (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology , 1, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, p. 82
  2. Suetonius, Tiberius 61
  3. Tacitus, Annales xvi. 28, 29, 33
  4. donald (2016-07-01). "Paconius Agrippinus". Donald Robertson. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  5. Epictetus, ap. Stobaeus Serm. 7; Discourses , i. 1. 28-30

PD-icon.svg  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology .Missing or empty |title= (help)