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• published: 03 Mar 2016
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"Cynic philosophy's roots go back to the 4th century BC, but it experienced a revival approximately simultaneous with the dramatic rise of Christianity. Cynicism gradually gained prominence as popular philosophy during the Roman Empire. By late antiquity, some Christian authors considered the Cynics to be their closest rivals from among the philosophical schools. If the claim may be accepted that monotheism was a prerequisite for the success of early Christianity, one may suspect that a contemporary movement with popular appeal would also have harboured thoughts on a topic of such crucial importance. This suspicion is strengthened by the Antisthenic roots of Cynicism. Antisthenes, the late 5th/early 4th century Socratic, is credited with probably the least ambiguous formulation of monotheism in all antiquity, expressed in terms of the sophistic nomos-physis antithesis. As reported by Philodemos, Antisthenes claimed in his Physics that there are many gods 'according to custom' (kata nomon), but only one 'according to nature' (kata fusin). The evidence suggests that the Cynicism of the early Roman Empire might have exerted a greater influence on the spread of monotheism than is usually assumed. Cynicism appears to have been significantly visible, and had followers in many parts of the Roman Empire, particularly in the east. Even early Christians shared some of its tenets and in late antiquity the two movements contended for market share. While the early Cynics considered religion to be of peripheral importance, their imperial successors were known for their criticism of traditional religion. This poses the question of what their point of departure and aim were: did they reject religion as such, or did their criticism arise from their own theology or even piety? In other words, did the monotheism of Antisthenes manage to survive into the empire? At the same time, the notion of the Cynic sage who occupies a special position of mediator between God and humans, the ally of God himself, recurs in various guises: the wise man who claims unique knowledge of God, Epictetus's scout and messenger, and the Indian sage who rejects civilisation in order to commune directly with the creator. Antisthenic monotheism appears to have exerted either continued influence on Cynic thinking, or renewed influence in Cynic circles of the Roman Empire. Such influence extended to both cultic criticism and a single God known through contemplation of nature. Due to the movement's particular conception of philosophy, textual evidence is far from abundant. However, the texts available to us display such coherence and similarity that we may assume them to be representative of more widely held views." 'Traces of Cynic monotheism in the early Roman Empire', by P. R. Bosman (University of South Africa, Pretoria) which appeared in Acta Classica- Proceedings of the Classical Association of South Africa, Jan 1, 2008, is available here: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Traces+of+Cynic+monotheism+in+the+early+Roman+Empire.-a0211555196 Track: Song For Ancestors Artist: Juno Reactor Album: Shango Label: Metropolis Records Release Date: October 9, 2000 Photograph: Philosophers' busts from the British Museum. From left to right: Socrates of Athens (Roman copy of a Greek original of 380-360 BC), Antisthenes of Athens (Roman copy of a Hellenistic period Greek original of the late 3rd century BC excavated near the Via Appia in Rome), Chrysippos of Soli in Cilicia (Roman copy of a Hellenistic original of about 200 BC discovered at the Villa of Terentius Varro Murena outside Rome), Epicouros of Samos (Roman copy of a Hellenistic original portrait of the 3rd century BC found in 1775 in the Villa Casali, near the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome ). Antisthenes (Athens c. 445 – c. 365 BC) was a Greek philosopher and a pupil of Socrates. Antisthenes first learned rhetoric under Gorgias before becoming an ardent disciple of Socrates. He adopted and developed the ethical side of Socrates' teachings, advocating an ascetic life lived in accordance with virtue. He came to be regarded as the founder of the Cynic school of philosophy). More on Portrait of the Greek Philosopher Antisthenes at the British Museum is available here: http://culturalinstitute.britishmuseu... Antisthenes was alive at the time of the famous Battle of Leuctra between the Spartans and the Thebans in 370 BC. More information on his life is available here: http://www.ancient.eu/Antisthenes_of_...