Reference.com

Hermias of Atarneus

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Hermias of Atarneus was Aristotle's father-in-law.

The first mention of Hermias is as a slave to Eubulus, a Bythnian banker who ruled Atarneus. Hermias eventually won his freedom and inherited the rule of Atarneus. Due to his policies, his control expanded to other neighboring cities, such as Assos, in Asia Minor.

In his youth, Hermias had studied philosophy in Plato's Academy. There he first met Aristotle. After Plato's death in 347 BC, Xenocrates and Aristotle traveled to Assos under the patronage of Hermias. Aristotle founded his first philosophical school there and eventually married Pythias, Hermias' daughter or niece.

Hermias' towns were among those that revolted from Persian rule. In 342 BC, the Persian King, Artaxerxes III, sent Memnon of Rhodes to reconquer these coastal cities. Under the guise of truce, Memnon tricked Hermias into visiting him, whereupon he sent Hermias in chains to Susa. Hermias was tortured, presumably to learn about Philip of Macedon's upcoming invasion plans. Hermias' dying words were that he had done nothing unworthy of philosophy.

After Hermias' death, Aristotle dedicated a statue in Delphi and composed a hymn to Virtue in Hermias' honor.

References



Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday January 05, 2008 at 21:16:40 PST (GMT -0800)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation