Philosophical Schools
The Household in the Ancient World
tress of the house," dictates the rules of the cult to Dionysios, the ruler of the house and patron of the cult. The statute includes moralizing rules for its members, among whom are included οίκέται (probably household slaves) and the inclusion of an oath to be taken by Dionysios and his extended family. As in the inscription from Torre Nova, the household cult probably helped to reinforce allegiances to the household community and its patron. From Priene in Caria comes evidence of what perhaps constituted a similar cult. Archaeological evidence of a household was unearthed here at the end of the last century.76 The remains of the so-called hieros oikos77 suggest that it was partly renovated for cultic use, but also continued as a domicile. It is not clear whether a cult community was attached to the household, and it is possible that adherents were drawn solely from members of the household community. Again, this time in the case of the Durene Temple of Gadde, archaeologists have identified four periods of construction. Established c. 150 B.C., the cult originated with Palmyrene merchants, among whom was a prominent family who perhaps established the cult in its home. They continued as leaders in the cult for several generations.78 As in the case of the Sarapeum of Delos, this house later became the location of the sanctuary and subsequent expansion. The host family later built a house adjacent to the temple for its own dwelling.79
Philosophical Schools Like many of the foreign cults of ancient Greece and Rome, the many philosophical schools often had their origin in the households of teachers or their patrons. There were exceptions; Diogenes, for example, resided in an earthenware jar in the Athenian agora80 — a famous ancient tourist attraction. But for most a domestic setting provided a more conducive environment for philosophy and debate. Plato's Protagoras opens in the house of the wealthy Athenian
Kallias, where Sophists are gathered in various corners, debating in small groups
(314C-315E). The Parmenides takes place in the house of Antiphon. The Symposium assumes a similar setting. Wycherley cites with approval the contention that "a Greek philosophical school was essentially a specialized extension of the Hellenic household."81 Friends and pupils lived with Epicurus82 and he bequeathed his house and garden to his pupils, which provided a quiet atmosphere for philosophical pursuits and the basis for a school.83 Teaching in one's own home remained an attractive option for many philosophers throughout the Hellenic and Imperial period.84 Even Justin seems to have plied his philosophical trade in his own rented quarters.85
Many philosophers remained unattached to such settings. Some, like the more extreme Cynics, forsook home and patronage and lived in public buildings, such as temples, stoas, and gymnasia.86 Aulus Gellius may be describing one of these when he recounts the meeting of a mendicant philosopher "in a cloak, with long hair and a beard that reached almost to his waist."*7 The begging philosopher was a popular target of Lucian's satire; the bel esprit repeatedly rails against those who seek to make a fortune from the charity of the rich.88 If begging was too extreme, residing at the home of a well-to-do patron as the household educator or resident intellectual must have been an attractive alterna-