TY - JOUR

T1 - The letters of the pythagorean women in their historical and philosophical contexts

AU - Afonasina, Anna

PY - 2017/1/1

Y1 - 2017/1/1

N2 - The letters of the Pythagorean women, designed to support the Pythagorean ideal of education in the context of the revived interest to Pythagoreanism around the first cent. CE and considered until the 19th century as the authentic ones, are examined in this article in the context of the rhetorical schools of Early Roman period. Putting these letters in the context of pastoral ones, we can also suggest that the Pythagorean letters were written with an ideological aim, as a counterbalance to the strengthening Christianity. I discuss the testimonies about Theano in their chronological order and question one of the conventional dating of the letters, attributed to her name. The second part from the letter Theano to Eubule is published in my translation, for the first time in the Russian language. Overall, this article is conceived as an introduction to a forthcoming commented translation of the letters of the Pythagorean women.

AB - The letters of the Pythagorean women, designed to support the Pythagorean ideal of education in the context of the revived interest to Pythagoreanism around the first cent. CE and considered until the 19th century as the authentic ones, are examined in this article in the context of the rhetorical schools of Early Roman period. Putting these letters in the context of pastoral ones, we can also suggest that the Pythagorean letters were written with an ideological aim, as a counterbalance to the strengthening Christianity. I discuss the testimonies about Theano in their chronological order and question one of the conventional dating of the letters, attributed to her name. The second part from the letter Theano to Eubule is published in my translation, for the first time in the Russian language. Overall, this article is conceived as an introduction to a forthcoming commented translation of the letters of the Pythagorean women.

KW - Crates

KW - Cynics

KW - Dicaearchus

KW - Epistolary genre

KW - Female letters

KW - Hipparchia

KW - Plutarchus

KW - Pythagoras

KW - Pythagoreanism

KW - Theano

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85026919389&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.21267/AQUILO.2017.11.6479

DO - 10.21267/AQUILO.2017.11.6479

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85026919389

VL - 11

SP - 524

EP - 535

JO - Schole

JF - Schole

SN - 1995-4328

IS - 2

ER -