Philodème de Gadara , born towards 110 av. J. - C. and died towards 40 before J. - C., is a philosopher epicurean originating in Gadara, in Syria. Of Eastern origin but strongly hellenized, it romanize the thought épicurienne.

Sources

Until the 18th century, and practically until today, one did not lay out that very few sources either fragmentary, or very partial on Philodème de Gadara, as all the epicureans. Of him, the medieval copyists had preserved only thirty-four its epigram S within the Greek Anthologie, without one being able to determine if bottom (philosophical) or forms it (poetic) there had the top. Its thought was moreover accessible in the writings from stoical and the saints Pères of the Church, who make of him some short quotations to attack it and condemn his thought, to the way in which all the epicureans were condemned by the Christian authors.

A library of 1838 rollers of papyrus was found in a Villa pertaining to Pison with Herculanum, the Villa of the Papyruses. This library contains mainly texts epicureans, of which some in several specimens, which suggests that this part of the library of Rammer belonged to Philodème. This library is exceptionally reach to us thanks to the eruption of the Vesuvius in 79 after J. - C., eruption which contrary to Pompéi did not cover with ashes Herculanum (ashes which consumed all the papyruses with Pompéi), but of mud. These rollers of papyrus were discovered in the years 1752-1754.

It is very difficult to unroll, read and interpret these rollers. The Université of Naples a long time was badly equipped for the study with the traditional texts. Moreover, the Greek philosophical schools remained badly known or were treated with scorn until very recently by the historical research or philosophical, under the influence of the Christian thought. These various factors explain the lack of interest of the scientists and the underutilization of these papyruses, and the first fragments were published in 1824   ; thereafter, the publications were done step by step, without order, and respect of the original drafting of the author, making particularly difficult the use of these texts.

Recently, however, partly thanks to the efforts of the international Center of study of the papyruses of Herculanum, these rollers were treated scientifically and constitute from now on an irreplaceable contribution being studied of hellenistic philosophy (page of presentation of the project). The researchers improved the machine of Piaggio (18th) of unfolding and gluing of the back of the papyruses, and work on digitized photographs, worked over again on computer, qu `they can compare with stereotypes Infrarouge S, and transcriptions of the 18th century of the rollers which were destroyed while they were unrolled. The rollers are preserved at the National library of Naples. The rollers of the villa of the Papyruses contain 36 treaties allotted to Philodème. This work treats Musique, Rhétorique, ethical, Vertu S and Vice S, of the ideal king, and defends the epicurean point of view of against the stoical and the Péripatéticien S.

The Projet Philodème is an international initiative, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and of the individual participations and universities, to establish a critical edition of the texts of Philodème on poetry, rhetoric and the music. These texts will be published and translated in a critical edition several volumes by Oxford University Press.

Next laid down volumes are:

• One Poems V, edition established and translated by David Armstrong and Cecilia Mangoni

• One Rhetoric III, edition established and translated by David Blank

• One Rhetoric III, edition established and translated by Dirk Obbink and Juergen Hammerstaedt.

Being given the state of incomplete advance of these editions, which thus caused only still compartmental studies, the presentation which follows life as of the thought of Philodème are necessarily brought to be supplemented and corrected in the future.

Biography

Philodème was born with Gadara, located in the Décapole (currently Umm Qeis, in Jordan) in Cœlésyrie, area belonging then to the hellenistic sphere . It leaves to Athens to follow L `teaching of Zénon de Sidon, philosopher who directs the Garden of Épicure around 90 av. J. - C. It is established then in Campanie towards 80. Protected by Rammer, influential politician, it is implied in the conflict between Pison and Cicéron ( in Pisonem, 29 ), which however makes the praise of its philosophical sights and of elegant lasciviousness of its poems and the attack in its Against Rammer . Philodème is also tutor of Virgile and influences the poetic Art of Horace. The Greek Anthologie contains thirty-four its epigram S.

Thought

Although a great part of its works did not reach us, the thought of Philodème is, among the philosophers epicureans, one of those which is the best known one for us: it is to us practically nothing remained the other epicureans. Formed at the school of the ascetic epicureanism with the Garden of Épicure with Athens, it settles then in Italy, and carries out the synthesis between the idealistic epicureanism in its Greek version, and Roman pragmatism.

The epicureanism is a philosophy which was seen: she proposes to reach happiness by avoiding all that can disturb quietude; happiness is then defined like the absence of disorders ( Ataraxie ). Philodème follows this precept, all in softener the rule and extending the field of application of this philosophy to fields that the founder of the school, Épicure, had not approached or held as minors: esthetics, and in particular music, the policy.

On death

On arts

The writings of Philodème de Gadara are particularly important in this field. Indeed, the epicureans regarded art as a waste of time. However, not only it finds a utility with arts (although it disadvises too difficult studies, those being able to disturb the peace of the heart), but moreover it writes itself of the poems.

On the policy

Writings

Its philosophical writings carry the following titles: With the friends of the School , On Epicure , D' Epicure and others , Of dead the , Of the music , Of piety , Of the choices and aversions , Of the characters and ways of life , Of freedom of speech , Of the gods , Of passions , Of the poems , Of rhetoric , Of the signs and modes of inferences , Of Stoical the , Of the defects and opposite virtues , Of the good king according to Homère , Re-examined philosophers and On calumny .

Its literary writings ( epigrams ) attach it to the school phenician of the epigram, to which also Méléagre belongs. This classification is called today into question.

See too

Related articles

• Other Greek philosophers whose writings were found with Herculanum:

• Démétrius Lacon,
• Polystrate, known differently only by two epigrams of the palatine Anthology
• Carneiscos.

Works published

• One Poems , Delivers 1. Edition presented, translated and with accompanying notes by Richard Janko (in English). Oxford university near, 2000. 608 pages, 16 pages of boards.

Bibliography on Philodème de Gadara

• Clara Auvray-Assayas and Daniel Delattre, ED., Cicéron and Philodème: the polemic in philosophy , editions Street of Ulm/Presses of the ENS, Paris, 2001;

• Mr. Gigante, the library of Philodème and the epicureanism Romain , Paris 1987.
• Annick Monet. the Roman garden: Epicureanism and poetry in Rome - Mixtures offered to Mayotte Bollack . Charles de Gaulle university, 2003. ISBN 978-2844670571

Sources of the article

• Michel Onfray. ancient Wisdoms , volume 1 of the Against-history of philosophy . Paris: Grasset, 2006. 331 pages, p 225-254

• Annick Monnet. Philodemus: a bibliography of principal works of Philodème de Gadara . Library of sciences of Antiquity, August 2006. On line, consulted the 1/13/2007.

and for the part Sources