Gargi, the daughter of sage
Vachaknu in the lineage of sage
Garga (c. 800-500 BCE) was named after her father as Gargi Vachaknavi. From a young age she evinced keen interest in Vedic scriptures and became very proficient in fields of
philosophy. She became highly knowledgeable in the
Vedas and Upanishads in the Vedic times and held intellectual debates with other philosophers
Gargi Vachaknavi (born about c. 8th century BCE) was an ancient Indian
philosopher. In
Vedic Literature, she is honored as a great natural philosopher,
[2] renowned expounder of the Vedas,
[3] and known as
Brahmavadini, a person with knowledge of Brahma Vidya. In the Sixth and the eighth
Brahmana of
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, her name is prominent as she participates in the
brahmayajna, a philosophic debate organized by
King Janakaof
Videha and challenges the sage
Yajnavalkya with perplexing questions on the issue of
atman (soul).
[5] She is also said to have written many hymns in the
Rigveda. She remained a celibate all her life and was held in veneration by the conventional
Hindus.
Right from a young age, gargi Vachaknavi was very intellectual. She acquired knowledge of the Vedas and scriptures and became renowned for her proficiency in these fields of philosophy; she even surpassed men in her knowledge.[9]
Theano (; Greek: Θεανώ; fl. 6th-century BC), or Theano of Crotone,[1] is the name given to perhaps two Pythagorean philosophers. She has been called the pupil, daughter or wife of Pythagoras, although others made her the wife of Brontinus. Her place of birth and the identity of her father are just as uncertain, leading some authors to suggest that there was more than one person whose details have become merged (these are sometimes referred to as Theano I and Theano II).[2] A few fragments and letters ascribed to her have survived which are of uncertain authorship.
Themistoclea was a
priestess at
Delph.
Themistoclea taught Pythagoras his
moral doctrines:
[2]
Aristoxenus says that Pythagoras got most of his moral doctrines from the Delphic priestess Themistoclea.
Aspasia (
;
[1][2] Greek:
Ἀσπασία; c. 470 BC
[3][4] – c. 400 BC)
[3][5] was an influential immigrant to
Classical-era Athens who was the lover and partner of the statesman
Pericles. The couple had a son,
Pericles the Younger, but the full details of the couple's marital status are unknown. According to
Plutarch, her house became an intellectual centre in Athens, attracting the most prominent writers and thinkers, including the philosopher
Socrates. It has also been suggested that the teachings of Aspasia influenced Socrates. Aspasia is mentioned in the writings of
Plato,
Aristophanes,
Xenophon, and others. Though she spent most of her adult life in Greece, few details of her life are fully known. Some scholars suggest that Aspasia was a brothel keeper and a
prostitute. Aspasia's role in history provides crucial insight to the understanding of the
women of ancient Greece. Very little is known about women from her time period. One scholar stated that, "To ask questions about Aspasia's life is to ask questions about half of humanity."
[6]
Arete of Cyrene (
;
Greek:
Ἀρήτη; fl. 5th–4th century BC) was a
Cyrenaic philosopher who lived in
Cyrene, Libya. She was the daughter of
Aristippus of Cyrene.
[1]
Arete learned philosophy from her father, Aristippus, who had himself learned philosophy from
Socrates. Arete, in turn, taught philosophy to her son -
Aristippus the Younger - hence her son was nicknamed "Mother-taught" (
Greek:
μητροδίδακτος).
[2]
Arete reportedly took over the leadership of the School of Cyrene upon her father's death. Her existence is recorded in several historic sources that were written after her death. She is mentioned by
Diogenes Laërtius,
Strabo,
Aelius,
Clement of Alexandria,
Theodoret of Cyrus,
Aristocles and in the
Suda. Diogenes records that among her pupils were
Theodorus the Atheist and
Anniceris.
[3] While no credible historic source has survived on Arete's teachings, the tenets of the School of Cyrene which her father founded are known. It was one of the first to advance a systematic view on the role of pleasure and pain in human life. The
Cyrenaics argued that discipline, knowledge, and virtuous actions are more likely to result in pleasure. Whereas negative emotions, such as anger and fear, multiplied pain. Towards the end of Socrates'
Protagoras it is reasoned that the "salvation of our life" depends upon applying to pleasures and pains a "science of measurement". The School of Cyrene provided one of the first approaches to
hedonism, which surfaced again in 18th and 19th century Europe and was advanced by thinkers such as
Jeremy Bentham.
[4]
Sosipatra of Ephesus (
Greek:
Σωσιπάτρα) was a
Neoplatonist philosopher and mystic who lived in the first half of the 4th century CE. The story of her life is told in
Eunapius'
Lives of the Sophists.
She was born in
Ephesus. When she was five years old, two men came to work on her father's estate. When they produced a bounteous
harvest beyond all expectation, they persuaded him to hand Sosipatra, and his estate, over to their care. The father was told to leave home for five years, during which Sosipatra was educated by the two men in ancient
Chaldean wisdom. When the father returned, Sosipatra was radiant in her beauty, and was said to have possessed extraordinary
psychic and
clairvoyant abilities. It is implied that the two men were
supernatural beings.
Hipparchia of Maroneia (
;
Greek:
Ἱππαρχία ἡ Μαρωνεῖτις; fl. c. 325 BC) was a
Cynic philosopher, and wife of
Crates of Thebes. She was born in
Maroneia, but her family moved to
Athens, where Hipparchia came into contact with Crates, the most famous Cynic philosopher in
Greece at that time. She fell in love with him, and, despite the disapproval of her parents, she married him. She went on to live a life of Cynic
poverty on the streets of Athens with her husband.
Little survives of her own philosophical views, but like most Cynics, her influence lies in the example of her life, choosing a way of life which was usually considered unacceptable for respectable women of the time. The story of her attraction to Crates, and her rejection of conventional values, became a popular theme for later writers.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, or
Saint Catharine of Alexandria, also known as
Saint Catherine of the Wheel and
The Great Martyr Saint Catherine (
Coptic:
Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲕⲁⲧⲧⲣⲓⲛ,
Greek:
ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς – translation: Holy Catherine the Great Martyr) is, according to tradition, a
Christian saint and
virgin, who was
martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor
Maxentius. According to her
hagiography, she was both a princess and a noted scholar, who became a
Christian around the age of 14, converted hundreds of people to
Christianity, and was
martyred around the age of 18. More than 1,100 years following her
martyrdom,
Saint Joan of Arc identified Catherine as one of the Saints who appeared to her and counselled her.
[
The
Eastern Orthodox Church venerates her as a
Great Martyr and celebrates her
feast day on 24 or 25 November (depending on the regional tradition). In Catholicism she is traditionally revered as one of the
Fourteen Holy Helpers. In 1969 the
Roman Catholic Church removed her
feast day from the
General Roman Calendar;
[5] however, she continued to be commemorated in the
Roman Martyrology on 25 November.
[6] In 2002, her feast was restored to the General Roman Calendar as an optional memorial.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, or
Saint Catharine of Alexandria, also known as
Saint Catherine of the Wheel and
The Great Martyr Saint Catherine (
Coptic:
Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲕⲁⲧⲧⲣⲓⲛ,
Greek:
ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς – translation: Holy Catherine the Great Martyr) is, according to tradition, a
Christian saint and
virgin, who was
martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor
Maxentius. According to her
hagiography, she was both a princess and a noted scholar, who became a
Christian around the age of 14, converted hundreds of people to
Christianity, and was
martyred around the age of 18. More than 1,100 years following her
martyrdom,
Saint Joan of Arc identified Catherine as one of the Saints who appeared to her and counselled her.
[4]
According to modern scholarship, the legend of Catherine was probably based on the life and murder of the
Greek philosopher
Hypatia, with reversed roles of Christians and pagans.
[7]
Ptolemais of Cyrene (
Ancient Greek:
Πτολεμαῒς ἡ Κυρηναία) was a harmonic theorist, author of
Pythagorean Principles of Music (Πυθαγορικὴ τῆς μουσικῆς στοιχείωσις). She lived perhaps in the 3rd century BC, and "certainly not after the first century AD."
[1]
Aesara of Lucania (
Greek:
Αἰσάρα Aisara; 4th or 3rd century BC) was a
Pythagorean philosopher who wrote
On Human Nature, of which a fragment is preserved by
Stobaeus.
Aesara is known only from a one-page fragment of her philosophical work titled
On Human Nature preserved by
Stobaeus.
[1] Lucania, where she came from, was an ancient district of southern
Italy and part of
Magna Graecia where many Pythagorean communities existed. It has been conjectured that her name is a variation on the name Aresa, who, according to one minor tradition, was a daughter of
Pythagoras and
Theano.
[2] A male writer from Lucania called Aresas is also mentioned by
Iamblichus in his
Life of Pythagoras.
[3]
The name Diotima means Zeus Honor, either in the active sense of a woman who honors Zeus, or in the passive sense of a woman honored by Zeus.
[2]
She was said to be from the Peloponnesian city of
Mantinea, which allied itself with Sparta during the
Peloponnesian War. The Greek form of this place, Mantinike, notably appears to contain the root "mantis", meaning "prophet, seer", and strongly suggests that Diotima was herself a prophetess, or at least somehow associated with prophecy. Diotima Mantinike thus would sound like "Diotima from Prophet-victory". Socrates provides additional significant information for his fellow symposiasts about Diotima Mantinike that hints at her victorious prophetic powers.
[2]
Since the only contemporaneous source concerning her is Plato, doubts have been raised about whether she was a real historical personage or merely a fictional creation; however, nearly all of the characters named in Plato's dialogues have been found to correspond to real people living in ancient
Athens.
[3]
Plato was thought by most 19th and early 20th century scholars to have based Diotima on
Aspasia, the mistress of
Pericles, so impressed was he by her intelligence and wit. However, Aspasia appears under her own name in Plato's dialogue
Menexenus, and some scholars have convincingly argued that Plato did not use false names: therefore, Diotima could be a historical figure.
[4]
A bronze relief circa 340 B.C.E. depicting Diotima and Socrates, as well as writings from the second through the fifth centuries A.D., refer to Diotima as a real person. The suggestion that she was a fictional creation was not introduced until the 16th century, probably based on the fact that she was a woman.
[1]
ie Daoyun (謝道韞, before 340-after 399) was a Chinese poet, writer, scholar, calligrapher and debater of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Her uncle Xie An enjoyed spending time with his nieces and nephews and would quiz them on literature and philosophy. She outperformed her siblings and cousins during the tests her uncle set.[1] Later, she would defend her uncle against the criticism of Huan Xuan.
Theodora of Emesa was a member of an intellectual group of Neoplatonists in late fifth and early sixth century Alexandria, and a disciple of Isidore. Damascius dedicated his Life of Isidore, also known as the Philosophical History, to Theodora, having written it at her request.[1]
