Death and Immortality in Ancient Philosophy

Provides an accessible account of the variety and subtlety of Greek and Roman philosophy of death, from Homer to Marcus Aurelius.

A. G. Long (Author)

9781107451568, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 April 2023

240 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.3 cm, 0.356 kg

Death and immortality played a central role in Greek and Roman thought, from Homer and early Greek philosophy to Marcus Aurelius. In this book A. G. Long explains the significance of death and immortality in ancient ethics, particularly Plato's dialogues, Stoicism and Epicureanism; he also shows how philosophical cosmology and theology caused immortality to be re-imagined. Ancient arguments and theories are related both to the original literary and theological contexts and to contemporary debates on the philosophy of death. The book will be of major interest to scholars and students working on Greek and Roman philosophy, and to those wishing to explore ancient precursors of contemporary debates about death and its outcomes.

Introduction
Part I. Immortality: 1. Immortality in early Greek poetry and philosophy
2. Platonic immortalities
3. Immortality and the ethics of a finite lifespan: Aristotle, early Stoics and Epicureanism
Part II. Death: 4. Death, doubts and scepticism
5. Epicurean evaluations of death
6. Stoic agnosticism and symmetry arguments
7. Suicide, religion and the city
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Spirituality & religious experience [HRLK], Worship, rites & ceremonies [HRLF], Theology [HRLB], Ancient religions & mythologies [HRKP], Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]