THE «ATHENIAN PLOT» IN THE ANCIENT BIOGRAPHIES OF ANACHARSIS

Abstract

The paper analyses the "Athenian plot" in the ancient biographies of Anacharsis. The main objective of the paper is to date the emergence of stories about Anacharsis’ meeting with Solon in Athens. It is analysing written reports of ancient authors of from the 8th century BC to 3rd century AD. The first mention of Anacharsis we find in "The History" of Herodotus (5th century BC). It is spoken in detail about Diogenes Laërtius and the primary source of his «Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers». The fact that Diogenes Laërtius uses the works of Sosicrates of Rhodes and Hermippus of Smyrna, who are the ancient authors of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, is stressed. This makes it possible to date the appearance of the «Athenian plot» in ancient biographies of Anacharsis precisely this period. The author described in short, the political and economic situation in Greece and Rome of this period. It is shown that Anacharsis became an ideal image of a noble barbarian for the ancient world. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) and the crisis of the post-war period made philosophers to think a place of a man in this world. The noble barbarian became the new ideal of ancient philosophy. It is concluded that the popularity of Anacharsis and the wise barbarian is a reaction of ancient authors to crises in ancient times. He was a sample of wisdom and purity. Anacharsis became famous for the simplicity of his way of life and his acute observations on the institutions and customs of the Greeks. None of the works ascribed to him in ancient times, if indeed they were written by him, have survived.