Ancient Theories of Soul

I wasn't aware of how many of the ancient philosophers had pondered the concept of a soul - and me, a teacher of Ancient History!

The thinking underwent several revolutions throughout the Greek era and some of the key philosophers were: Aristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras and Epicurius. Many of the theories are a little odd to me, bit some are very interesting.

Socrates asked:

"Haven't you realised that our soul is immortal and never destroyed?"

What a great question! He goes on to say not only is the soul immortal, but also " ...it contemplates truths after its separation from the body at the time of death."

Plato continues the thinking by pondering the idea of a imperishable soul and a perishable body - do both t he body and soul die when the body dies?

Aristotle's theory suggests that, "...all of the vital functions of all animate organisms are related to the soul." That's a big responsibility for the soul!

Epicurius holds that the soul is made up of atoms, inclusing a mysterious kind of atom that accounts for sense-perception. It is also made up of two parts - rational and irrational.

Stoic philosophy (Marcus Aurelius was a stoic) limits the responsibilities that Aristotle outlined the soul had. This was quite a revolution in thought for its time. (ref:http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ancient-soul/#4)

Pythagorus was not just a maths genius. He also believed the soul was immortal and after the death of a person, it would transmigrate into other animals. He also believed that, "...after certain periods of time the things that have happened once happen again and nothing is absolutely new." This is the theory I like best. (ref:http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoras/)