This essay examines verbal and visual representations of the tribōn in ancient literature and art, with a focus on the range of Christian attitudes. As Christians entered the fields of literary, oratorical, and philosophical education, they inherited the significations of the garment, challenged the claims of other intellectuals, and contributed to the development of its meaning, both in familiar and new ways. The fashion also became popular in the third century CE as a cultural asset for those seeking to climb social and political ladders. Adopted by philosophers of the various Greek schools, on the one hand it served as a visual, social bond of the intellectual class, and, on the other, it was a site of competition as the different schools promoted conflicting ideas and lifestyles, relying on dress as a display of credentials. Inspired by the iconic authority of Socrates, the “philosopher’s look” became the “uniform” of learned men and a signifier of an expertise in ideas and words. ""Ancient philosophers had a distinctive look-long hair, beard, and a simple garment called the tribōn (in Latin, pallium), which wrapped around the waist and draped over the left shoulder, leaving the torso bear if a tunic was not worn beneath. Marriage is an essential part of the latter, but the Cynic, to whom Epictetus assigns the special status of messenger and scout of Zeus, is exempted from the responsibilities accompanying family life. Epictetus retains the distinction between the ideal community of the wise and reality as is. This results in an emphasis on the marriage partnership as small-scale communism based on friendship. Musonius pays no attention to utopia or the ideal sage, but incorporates utopian vocabulary in his defence of marriage for the philosopher, thus ‘domesticating’ utopia. The Roman Stoics Musonius and Epictetus relate differently to their own tradition.
The abolition of property and marriage (having women and children in common) occurs frequently in so-called high utopias of the classical era, but this aspect of Stoicism diminished since the middle Stoa, together with receding expectations regarding the Stoic wise man. The scantily transmitted material on Zeno suggests a double focus in early Stoic thought, on the one hand utopian constructions of the ideal sate and ideal sage (where marriage is abolished) and on the other, ordinary reality (where the Stoic sage should marry and procreate). Ambiguity on whether the sage should marry can be traced back to the Stoic founder. Roman Stoics, far from ignoring the prominence of family in their society, imbued the space of marriage with fresh content but did not agree on the issue of whether the philosopher should be exempted from this responsibility. Since Panaetius, Stoic thought provided rational support for this status by means of its oikeiosis doctrine. The result is a capacious, fascinating, and charming compendium of ancient inspirationand instruction.The family was a prominent aspect of early imperial ideology and enjoyed an increased status in Roman society of the period. Lavishly illustrated with a vast array of artwork that attests to the profound impact of Diogenes on the Western imagination, this edition also includes detailed notes and a variety of newly commissioned essays by leading scholars that shed light on the work's historical and intellectual contexts as well as its rich legacy. To this day, it remains a crucial source for much of what we know about the origins and practice of philosophy in ancient Greece, covering a longer period of time and a larger number of figures-from Pythagoras and Socrates to Aristotle and Epicurus-than any other ancient source.This new edition of the Lives, in a faithful and eminently readable translation by Pamela Mensch, is the first rendering of the complete text into English in nearly a century. This rich tradition was recast by Diogenes Laertius into an anthology, a miscellany of maxims and anecdotes, that generations of Western readers have consulted for edification as well as entertainment ever since the Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, first compiled in the third century AD, came to prominence in Renaissance Italy. Long before our own day of self-help books offering twelve-step programs and other guides to attain happiness, the philosophers of ancient Greece explored the riddle of what makes a life worth living, producing a wide variety of ideas and examples to follow. Everyone wants to live a meaningful life.
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