Antisthenes (c. 445- c. 365 BC), was a prominent follower of Socrates and bitter rival of Plato. In this revisionary account of his philosophy in all its aspects, P. A. Meijer claims that Plato and Aristotle have corrupted our perspective on this witty and ingenious thinker. The first part of the book reexamines afresh Antisthenes' ideas about definition and predication and concludes from these that Antisthenes never held the (in)famous theory that contradiction is impossible. The second part of the book argues that Antisthenes' logical theories bear directly on his activities as an exegete of Homer and hence as a theological thinker. Part three, finally, offers innovative readings of Antisthenes' ethical fragments.

Dr. P.A. Meijer was associate professor of Ancient Philosophy in Leiden University until his retirement. He has published extensively on various subjects in this field. Among his most important publications are Plotinus on the Good or the One (Enneads VI 9), an analytical commentary (1992), and Stoic Theology, Proofs for the existence of the Cosmic God and of the Traditional Gods (2007).

PrefaceAbbreviations Primary Sources-Editions Used Introduction1) Antisthenes' status2) The importance of Antisthenes' philosophical viewsPart I Logos and PredicateChapter I Contradiction1) Did Antisthenes claim that there is no such thing as contradiction?2) Was Antisthenes the first theoretician of the predicate?3) Aristotle contra Antisthenes4) A 'mad' contradictor5) Antisthenes and ouden legein6) Aristotle's unconvincing rejoinder7) The silver-tin analogy8) The Antistheneans9) Was makros logos an unusual notion?10) The enumerative definition1) Was the enumerative definition a trouvaille of the Antistheneans?2) Does 'one cannot say what a thing is' conflict with Antisthenes' own view?11) Antisthenes' followers and teaching12) Aristotle's to ti en einai and the 'was' of Antisthenes' explanation of logos13) The imperfect tense in the logos-formula, why not also a future tense?Chapter II Investigation of names1) Name (onoma)2) An example of the investigation of a name (polytropos)3) The logos formula reconsidered4) Branccaci's solution to the imperfect ?n5) An interim assessment: Antisthenes contra Plato?6) Reconsideration of the issue about contradiction (Plato's Euthydemus)7) 'To speak falsely' (ceÁdesyai) 8) 'Nearly' (sxedÓn) 9) Antisthenes' teaching practice10) Appendix I: Guthrie's systematic surveyPart II Antisthenes' views on Theology: His theoretical approach to the study of HomerChapter I Theology1) Antisthenes and monotheism: was Antisthenes the first monotheist?2) Aphrodite's case3) Pleasure as background to theological issues4) Antisthenes and the popular godsChapter II Antisthenes' scientific approach to the study of Homer1) Polytropos1) Section 12) Section 2 (lysis)3) Section 32) Commentary on the sections 1) Strange Section 32) Antisthenes' logical style3) Argumentation in Section 24) Section 3 revisited3) Aristotle correctedChapter III Antisthenes' interpretation of other Homeric Figures1) A critical observation: Antisthenes in favour of Homer and the Cyclopes2) Calypso3) Other places in Homer: On winePart III Antisthenean EthicsChapter I Ethics and Myth1) Introduction: Moral strength2) Heracles: Ethics and paideia3) Heracles and Heavenly Matters4) Heracles and Money5) Heracles and Virtue6) Properties of virtue, wisdom (phronesis)Chapter II Sex, Marriage, Family1) Antisthenes' teaching regarding sex and marriage2) Adultery3) FamilyChapter III Aspasia1) Introduction2) Aspasia and Pericles3) Aspasia and MenexenusChapter IV Alcibiades1) Alcibiades and beauty2) Alcibiades' bad behaviourChapter V Antisthenes and Politics1) Introduction2) Archelaus, the bad king?3) Whence Antisthenes' preference for Cyrus as the good king?4) Antisthenes' Cyrus-works, Xenophon's Cyropaedia5) Good and Bad in the State6) Social theoryChapter VI The Wise1) The wise person2) The wise as modelsChapter VII Antisthenes and Xenophon1) Introduction2) Jealousy and envy2) Friendship3) Friendship and 'orthosemantics'Chapter VIII A portrait of Antisthenes in Xenophon's Symposium1) Antisthenes in Xenophon's Symposium2) The teachability of virtue3) Antisthenes as a cross-examiner4) Antisthenes and Niceratus on Homer5) Antisthenes' speech6) Pandering7) Two incidental appearances8) The final scene between Socrates and Antisthenes9) Antisthenean themes in Xenophon's SymposiumEpilogue: Antisthenes, an AssessmentAppendix II The Speeches of Ajax and OdysseusIntroductionAntisthenes' sourcesThe aim of the speechesAiax' speech: 'Not words but deeds'Odysseus' Speech: 'I alone am the saviour of the Greeks by secret acts' Antisthenes' book On CourageBibliographyConcordance Giannantoni (SSR) -Caizzi D.C.Index of Fragments CitedIndex of Passage CitedIndex of Names