Anaxarchus (/ˌænəɡˈzɑːrkəs/;Greek:Ἀνάξαρχος; c. 380 – c. 320 BC) was aGreekphilosopher of the school ofDemocritus. Together withPyrrho, he accompaniedAlexander the Great into Asia. The reports of his philosophical views suggest that he was a forerunner of theGreek skeptics.
Anaxarchus was born atAbdera inThrace. He was the companion and friend ofAlexander the Great in his Asiatic campaigns. His relationship with Alexander, however, was ambiguous, owing to contradictory sources.[1] Some paint Anarxchus as a flatterer, among themPlutarch, who tells a story that atBactra, in 327 BC in a debate withCallisthenes, Anaxarchus advised all to worship Alexander as a god even during his lifetime. In contrast, others paint Anaxarchus as scathingly ironic towards the monarch.[1] According toDiogenes Laertius, in response to Alexander's claim to have been the son ofZeus-Ammon, Anaxarchus pointed to his bleeding wound and remarked, "See the blood of a mortal, notichor, such as flows from the veins of the immortal gods."[2]
When Alexander was trying to show that he was divine so that the Greeks would perform proskynesis to him, Anaxarchus said that Alexander could "more justly be considered a god than Dionysus or Heracles" (Arrian, 104)
Diogenes Laertius says that Anaxarchus earned the enmity ofNicocreon, the tyrant ofCyprus, with an inappropriate joke against tyrants in a banquet inTyre in 331 BC.[1] Later, when Anaxarchus was forced to land in Cyprus against his will, Nicocreon ordered him to be pounded to death in a mortar. The philosopher endured this torture with fortitude, and even taunted the king: "[You merely] pound away at the bag of Anaxarchus—but you are not pounding Anaxarchus [himself]!" When Nicocreon threatened to cut out his tongue, Anaxarchus instead bit it off himself, and spat it in the tyrant's face.[1][3]
Very little is known about his philosophical views. It is thought that he represents a link between theatomism ofDemocritus, and theskepticism of his own apprenticePyrrho. He also shares ethical traits with theCynic andCyrenaic schools.[4]
Anaxarchus is said to have studied under Diogenes of Smyrna, who in turn studied underMetrodorus of Chios, who used to declare that he knew nothing, not even the fact that he knew nothing.[3] According toSextus Empiricus, Anaxarchus "compared existing things to a scene-painting and supposed them to resemble the impressions experienced in sleep or madness."[5] It was under the influence of Anaxarchus that Pyrrho is said to have adopted "a most noble philosophy, . . . taking the form of agnosticism and suspension of judgement."[6] Anaxarchus is said to have praised Pyrrho's "indifference and sang-froid."[7] He is said to have possessed "fortitude and contentment in life," which earned him the epitheteudaimonikos ("fortunate").[2]
His skepticism seems to have been pragmatical, postulating that against the uncertainty of existence, the only viable stance is to pursue happiness oreudaimonia, for which it is necessary to cultivate indifference oradiaphora. According to him, the effort to differentiate truth from falseness through the senses is both useless and detrimental to happiness.[4]
He wrote a work namedAbout the Monarchs. In it, he spouses that knowledge is useless without the ability to know when to speak and what to say in every occasion.[4]
Plutarch reports that he toldAlexander the Great that there was an infinite number of worlds, causing the latter to become dejected because he had not yet conquered even one.[8]
Diogenes Laërtius,Life of Anaxarchus, translated byRobert Drew Hicks (1925).| International | |
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