What did ancient philosophers do for a living?

[Rojava Free State]

Socrates. Plato. Aristotle. Ptolemy. Thales. Archemedes. What do these names have in common? They were ancient Greek philosophers who established modern thought and debate in western civilization and to this day they are admired for their polymathic contributions. We look back in wonder on these men, and wonder where we would be as a society without them and I think we owe them our gratitude for helping to develop this civilization and its values.

With that being said, I only got one question. WHAT DID THEY DO TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE!? seriously, I went online and looked up what job Plato had and I found nothing. As far as I can understand from the texts about the ancient Greek thinkers, these guys didn't work at all. How did they provide for their families? How did they keep a roof overhead? How did they survive in a society which even at that time was based around money and the exchange of goods and services? Is anyone else confused about what the philosophers did besides think? What do you think they did for work? Does anyone know what employment these brilliant thinkers had?

[Jack Thomas Lang]

They lived in a barrel.

[Black Ships]

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/ ... emocritus/

I highly recommend the subreddit r/AskHistorians for such questions. There is a wealth of information there.

Skimming, it seems like teaching was a common profession (then as now). Some were independently wealthy. Some of the more extreme chose a life of poverty and begged for a living

[Rojava Free State]

some of the more extreme chose a life of poverty and begged for a living

I thought they were supposed to be smart

[Black Ships]

some of the more extreme chose a life of poverty and begged for a living

I thought they were supposed to be smart

Oh, so this is how this thread is going to go...

[Nergale]

Plato was a trustfund baby for one. He also ran an Academy where a bunch of other trustfund babies got educated.
Socrates was a stonemason like his dad, according to tradition.

Aristotle's dad was the Macedonian king's personal physician and Aristotle went on to be one of the aforementioned trustfund babies that Plato trained. Aristotle himself was later appointed as the head of the Macedonian Royal Academy.

Archimedes was a scientist and engineer. He scienced and engineered.

[Philjia]

Plato's family were aristocratic, so he would have had income from land/inheritance, Socrates was a soldier before becoming a teacher, Aristotle was a tutor and eventually appointed head of the royal academy of Macedon, and Diogenes was a beggar (on purpose).

[Northwest Slobovia]

Does anyone know what employment these brilliant thinkers had?

A man once asked Socrates about knowledge. He was reputed to reply, "Do you know what Wikipedia and Google are?".

[Chan Island]

Quite a few of them were in teaching. Famously, Aristotle educated future king Alexander the Great.

A handful wrote down their thoughts and presumably made some cash selling copies along the way. Epicurus allegedly wrote 300 books and letters in his lifetime, though only very few survive.

Others either begged or were already wealthy because family.

[Pacomia]

Wait, so Plato and Aristotle were from rich families, Socrates (maybe) wasn't, and Archimedes is unclear is what I've gathered from this thread so far.

[Diopolis]

Off the top of my head, Socrates was a teacher, Plato was a former professional athlete and had money, Aristotle was also a teacher, Archimedes was an engineer.

[Vetalia]

Some were funded by endowments provided by wealthy benefactors to sustain the schools in perpetuity. Others were teachers or rhetoricians in their day jobs, especially in the Roman Empire when such skills were prized and it was mostly Greeks who immigrated to Rome and other major cities to teach the youths. Epictetus was a freed slave who earned his living teaching in Rome. Marcus Aurelius was an educated member of a patrician family adopted by Hadrian and his successors.

Others went the more extreme route and lived lives of asceticism and poverty like Diogenes of Sinope.

[Rojava Free State]

Plato was a trustfund baby for one. He also ran an Academy where a bunch of other trustfund babies got educated.
Socrates was a stonemason like his dad, according to tradition.

Aristotle's dad was the Macedonian king's personal physician and Aristotle went on to be one of the aforementioned trustfund babies that Plato trained. Aristotle himself was later appointed as the head of the Macedonian Royal Academy.

Archimedes was a scientist and engineer. He scienced and engineered.

Your response belongs in a drunken history video lmao

[Gormwood]

I thought they were supposed to be smart

Oh, so this is how this thread is going to go...

Yay, a diatribe on the inherent uselessness of philosophy and philosophers.

P.S. Bruce Lee majored in philosophy.

[Rojava Free State]

Does anyone know what employment these brilliant thinkers had?

A man once asked Socrates about knowledge. He was reputed to reply, "Do you know what Wikipedia and Google are?".

I tried Wikipedia and it only answered my question on Aristotle

[Rojava Free State]

Oh, so this is how this thread is going to go...

Yay, a diatribe on the inherent uselessness of philosophy and philosophers.

P.S. Bruce Lee majored in philosophy.

Twas merely an act

[Vetalia]

A man once asked Socrates about knowledge. He was reputed to reply, "Do you know what Wikipedia and Google are?".

"You sir, are an incorrigible douchebag." - Oscar Wilde

[Al Mumtahanah]

Off the top of my head, Socrates was a teacher, Plato was a former professional athlete and had money, Aristotle was also a teacher, Archimedes was an engineer.

Socrates didn't charge anything, he was a distinguished veteran and mostly got by on mooching.

[Al Mumtahanah]

Plato was a trustfund baby for one. He also ran an Academy where a bunch of other trustfund babies got educated.
Socrates was a stonemason like his dad, according to tradition.

Aristotle's dad was the Macedonian king's personal physician and Aristotle went on to be one of the aforementioned trustfund babies that Plato trained. Aristotle himself was later appointed as the head of the Macedonian Royal Academy.

Archimedes was a scientist and engineer. He scienced and engineered.

I don't think Athens had trustfunds.

[Heloin]

Drank. Plato, they say, could stick it away, half a crate of whiskey every day. Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle. And of course Socrates himself is particularly missed. A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed.

[Nergale]

Plato was a trustfund baby for one. He also ran an Academy where a bunch of other trustfund babies got educated.
Socrates was a stonemason like his dad, according to tradition.

Aristotle's dad was the Macedonian king's personal physician and Aristotle went on to be one of the aforementioned trustfund babies that Plato trained. Aristotle himself was later appointed as the head of the Macedonian Royal Academy.

Archimedes was a scientist and engineer. He scienced and engineered.

Your response belongs in a drunken history video lmao

Thanks. I like to keep things simple.

Plato was a trustfund baby for one. He also ran an Academy where a bunch of other trustfund babies got educated.
Socrates was a stonemason like his dad, according to tradition.

Aristotle's dad was the Macedonian king's personal physician and Aristotle went on to be one of the aforementioned trustfund babies that Plato trained. Aristotle himself was later appointed as the head of the Macedonian Royal Academy.

Archimedes was a scientist and engineer. He scienced and engineered.

I don't think Athens had trustfunds.

Oh shit. I didn't know this. Thanks. Lemme just go file this response away under the "Doesn't Know Colloquialisms" folder.

[Mostrov]

‎

[Ifreann]

They drove for Uber, duh.

[Nergale]

They drove for Uber, duh.

[Vetalia]

They drove for Uber, duh.

I could see that for Aristotle or Plato but I see Diogenes as making shitty crafts on Etsy for a living.