Theano

Pythagorean philosopher, usually considered to be either the wife or the daughter of Pythagoras (d. 497/6 BC).

Pythagorean philosopher, usually considered to be either the wife or the daughter of Pythagoras (d. 497/6 BC). Several writings in Greek and Syriac are attributed to Theano. The Greek texts consist of nine sayings, seven letters, and a fragment from a work ‘On Piety’ (Peri eusebeias). Their date is difficult to determine: the letters may be of a 2nd to 5th cent. date, whereas the sayings and the fragment may represent an earlier tradition. The Syriac texts consist of a collection of 65 sayings, entitled ‘Advice of Theano’ (ms. London, Brit. Libr. Add. 14,658), other isolated sayings, and a passage of Pseudo-Nonnus’s ‘Mythological Scholia on Gregory of Nazianzus ’ (ed. Brock). The Syriac texts focus on themes of general ethical advice, such as charity, friendship, avoidance of anger, inner freedom, and the pursuit of virtue rather than wealth. Unlike similar gnomologia (such as the ‘Sentences of Sextus’), the ‘Advice of Theano’ has not undergone a Christian redaction. This collection may date from the 3rd cent. The Syriac texts are translations from the Greek, but their original is not among the extant Greek fragments. The content of the Syriac Theano tradition, however, resembles certain sections of the Greek tradition. Moreover, there are similarities between the Syriac sayings and other Pythagorean gnomologia.