The Stoics largely believed that the moral permissibility of suicide did not hinge on the moral character of the individual pondering it. Rather, the Stoics held that whenever the means to living a naturally flourishing life are not available to us, suicide may be justified, regardless of the character or virtue of the individual in question. Our natures require certain “natural advantages” (e.g., physical health) in order for us to be happy, and a wise person who recognizes that such advantages may be lacking in her life sees that ending her life neither enhances nor diminishes her moral virtue. When a man's circumstances contain a preponderance of things in accordance with nature, it is appropriate for him to remain alive; when he possesses or sees in prospect a majority of the contrary things, it is appropriate for him to depart from life…. Even for the foolish, who are also miserable, it is appropriate for them to remain alive if they possess a predominance of those things which we pronounce to be in accordance with nature. (Cicero, III, 60–61) Hence, not only may concerns related to one's obligations to others justify suicide, but one's own private good is relevant too. The Roman Stoic Seneca, who was himself compelled to commit suicide, was even bolder, claiming that since “mere living is not a good, but living well”, a wise person “lives as long as he ought, not as long as he can.” For Seneca, it is the quality, not the quantity, of one's life that matters.
Stanford: Archives
Stanford: Archives
Contrary to views in the Judaeo-Christian world, Graeco-Roman attitudes toward suicide held that it could be acceptable under certain circumstances. While some condemned it, such as the Pythagoreans, suicide most often occurred when one’s honor was irretrievably lost, and the individual confronted great public shame. It could also be associated with political protest, if one refused submission to tyrannical authorities. On the other hand, as an answer to petty misfortunes, suicide was frowned upon as a cowardly and disgraceful act. Though it was not commonly represented in the art of antiquity, the suicides of famous historical figures such as Socrates, Cleopatra, Sophonisba, and Lucretia became favorite subjects of later artists, writers, and music composers.
Some scholars believe suicide was fairly commonplace in the Greek and Roman world, at least up through the Early Imperial period. Of the thirty-two extant Greek tragedies, suicide figures prominently into thirteen examples. During the second century B.C.E., compulsory suicide became the preferred method of execution for the Roman elite. Eschewing imprisonment and a public trial, white-collar criminals were allowed to return to their families with the stipulation that they would kill themselves within one day. This provided the convicted a dignified, private death befitting his/her class. Mandatory suicide was later taken to the extreme by the emperor Nero who became infamous for sending daggers to the dinner tables of his political adversaries.
University of Missouri
-Suicide in Graeco-Roman Society
Some scholars believe suicide was fairly commonplace in the Greek and Roman world, at least up through the Early Imperial period. Of the thirty-two extant Greek tragedies, suicide figures prominently into thirteen examples. During the second century B.C.E., compulsory suicide became the preferred method of execution for the Roman elite. Eschewing imprisonment and a public trial, white-collar criminals were allowed to return to their families with the stipulation that they would kill themselves within one day. This provided the convicted a dignified, private death befitting his/her class. Mandatory suicide was later taken to the extreme by the emperor Nero who became infamous for sending daggers to the dinner tables of his political adversaries.
University of Missouri
-Suicide in Graeco-Roman Society
The act of suicide in ancient Rome, Seppuku in Japan, was considered a means of regaining some honor or reputation in the face of shame and failure. For the Greeks and Romans one's honor and reputation were highly valued and they were often not only limited to life itself but also entailed repercussions followed after death.
While some of the ancients may have been concerned about their personal fate and destiny of the afterlife, the Romans were mostly preoccupied of the image and legacy they left behind in the minds of other people and the shame and disgrace they may have caused or cause to their family and the other generations to come.
Suicide and Death by Execution in Ancient Roman Life To the Roman nobility, courage and dignity were of utmost importance. When one`s life had been tarnished with a disgraceful or shameful act, suicide represented a manner of “rectifying” the error and “regaining” some of the dignity lost in the public eye.
While some of the ancients may have been concerned about their personal fate and destiny of the afterlife, the Romans were mostly preoccupied of the image and legacy they left behind in the minds of other people and the shame and disgrace they may have caused or cause to their family and the other generations to come.
Suicide and Death by Execution in Ancient Roman Life To the Roman nobility, courage and dignity were of utmost importance. When one`s life had been tarnished with a disgraceful or shameful act, suicide represented a manner of “rectifying” the error and “regaining” some of the dignity lost in the public eye.
The Royal Society of Medicine:
The Greek tragedians in antiquity were the first to use nearly all of the literary forms which exist nowadays: tragedy, comedy, epic and romance.2 The three tragedian giants were Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.Aeschylus, who was regarded as the father of tragedy, was born in Elefsis in c. 525 BC and died in 456 BC. He was the earliest of the dramatists whose work has survived; his famous predecessors included Thespis, Pratinos, Phrynichus and others whose works have been lost. The performances were of a religious origin, and were part of the cult of Dionysos.3It has been estimated that Aeschylus wrote between 70 and 90 tragedies, but only seven have come down to us. Some are very well known, such as Seven against Thebes and the Oresteia (consisting of Agamemnon, Choephori and Eumenides), which is the only surviving trilogy and which represents not only Aeschylus' greatest achievement,4 but is most probably among ‘the greatest work[s] of dramatic art ever created.’5In the Aeschylian classic drama Prometheus Bound4-6 one of the characters, Eos, who has become desperately entrenched in psychological problems, says that it is better for one to die than to suffer every day. It appears that Aeschylus was not against euthanasia. ‘It were better to die once and for all than to drag out my lingering days in anguish.’7aSophocles8-11 was born in c. 495 BC and died in 406 BC; his family was of very comfortable means. A handsome and successful athlete and musician, he enjoyed the high esteem of his fellow citizens, holding both political and religious office. Sophocles' profound respect for the gods resulted in his strictly negative viewpoint with regard to euthanasia. He believed that life was the highest good given to mankind by the gods.Seven Sophoclean tragedies have survived, spanning some 40 years or more.8 Sophocles was the recipient of numerous awards for his plays. In Antigone10 he states that nobody is so silly as to wish to die: ‘Who prays to die is mad.’ ‘No man is so foolish that he is enamoured of death.’7b However, in another play, The Women of Trachis,11 he refers to the dilemma presented by assisted euthanasia: The protagonist Heracles, who is suffering from unbearable pain, asks his son, Hyllus, to help him end his life: ‘Lay my body thereupon and kindle it with flaming pine-torch. And let no tear of mourning be seen there.’7c Hyllus complains that in so doing, he will ‘become a murderer’ and will be showing disrespect to the gods. ‘What a deed dost thou require of me my father that I should become the murderer guilty of thy blood.’7c ‘Father, father, how can you? You are asking me to be your murderer, polluted with your blood.’ And Heracles replies: ‘No, I am not. I ask you to be my healer,’11 or ‘(be) healer of my sufferings, sole physician of my pain.’7cEuripides, who was born on the island of Salamis in c. 480 BC and died in 406 BC, was the most modern of the three dramatists; he wrote more than 100 plays, of which 18 have survived and others are known in fragments. Among his innovations were the introduction of realism and a machine appearing from the heavens, out of which comes a god: when the play proceeds to its conclusion, this divine being seems to resolve the impasse, offering a solution.Unlike Sophocles, Euripides won few awards.12-16 He believed that man is responsible for his actions and on at least two occasions in his plays, individuals seek euthanasia. In Iphigeneia in Taurica, Orestes, who suffers psychologically, tries to put an end to his life by starving himself to death. He writes:12,13 ‘Fasting before his shrine I cast me down and swore to snap my life threat, dying there I.’ However, Euripides admires life and his attitude is one which is against euthanasia. In his play Iphigeneia in Aulis14 he writes: ‘Ill life o'er passeth gracious death.’ And lastly, in his play The Madness of Hercules,15,16 he puts the following words in the mouth of his hero: ‘Yet, thus I have mused—how deep soe'er in ills—shall I quit life and haply prove me craven?’ Or, ‘I will be strong to await death.’16
The Greek tragedians in antiquity were the first to use nearly all of the literary forms which exist nowadays: tragedy, comedy, epic and romance.2 The three tragedian giants were Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.Aeschylus, who was regarded as the father of tragedy, was born in Elefsis in c. 525 BC and died in 456 BC. He was the earliest of the dramatists whose work has survived; his famous predecessors included Thespis, Pratinos, Phrynichus and others whose works have been lost. The performances were of a religious origin, and were part of the cult of Dionysos.3It has been estimated that Aeschylus wrote between 70 and 90 tragedies, but only seven have come down to us. Some are very well known, such as Seven against Thebes and the Oresteia (consisting of Agamemnon, Choephori and Eumenides), which is the only surviving trilogy and which represents not only Aeschylus' greatest achievement,4 but is most probably among ‘the greatest work[s] of dramatic art ever created.’5In the Aeschylian classic drama Prometheus Bound4-6 one of the characters, Eos, who has become desperately entrenched in psychological problems, says that it is better for one to die than to suffer every day. It appears that Aeschylus was not against euthanasia. ‘It were better to die once and for all than to drag out my lingering days in anguish.’7aSophocles8-11 was born in c. 495 BC and died in 406 BC; his family was of very comfortable means. A handsome and successful athlete and musician, he enjoyed the high esteem of his fellow citizens, holding both political and religious office. Sophocles' profound respect for the gods resulted in his strictly negative viewpoint with regard to euthanasia. He believed that life was the highest good given to mankind by the gods.Seven Sophoclean tragedies have survived, spanning some 40 years or more.8 Sophocles was the recipient of numerous awards for his plays. In Antigone10 he states that nobody is so silly as to wish to die: ‘Who prays to die is mad.’ ‘No man is so foolish that he is enamoured of death.’7b However, in another play, The Women of Trachis,11 he refers to the dilemma presented by assisted euthanasia: The protagonist Heracles, who is suffering from unbearable pain, asks his son, Hyllus, to help him end his life: ‘Lay my body thereupon and kindle it with flaming pine-torch. And let no tear of mourning be seen there.’7c Hyllus complains that in so doing, he will ‘become a murderer’ and will be showing disrespect to the gods. ‘What a deed dost thou require of me my father that I should become the murderer guilty of thy blood.’7c ‘Father, father, how can you? You are asking me to be your murderer, polluted with your blood.’ And Heracles replies: ‘No, I am not. I ask you to be my healer,’11 or ‘(be) healer of my sufferings, sole physician of my pain.’7cEuripides, who was born on the island of Salamis in c. 480 BC and died in 406 BC, was the most modern of the three dramatists; he wrote more than 100 plays, of which 18 have survived and others are known in fragments. Among his innovations were the introduction of realism and a machine appearing from the heavens, out of which comes a god: when the play proceeds to its conclusion, this divine being seems to resolve the impasse, offering a solution.Unlike Sophocles, Euripides won few awards.12-16 He believed that man is responsible for his actions and on at least two occasions in his plays, individuals seek euthanasia. In Iphigeneia in Taurica, Orestes, who suffers psychologically, tries to put an end to his life by starving himself to death. He writes:12,13 ‘Fasting before his shrine I cast me down and swore to snap my life threat, dying there I.’ However, Euripides admires life and his attitude is one which is against euthanasia. In his play Iphigeneia in Aulis14 he writes: ‘Ill life o'er passeth gracious death.’ And lastly, in his play The Madness of Hercules,15,16 he puts the following words in the mouth of his hero: ‘Yet, thus I have mused—how deep soe'er in ills—shall I quit life and haply prove me craven?’ Or, ‘I will be strong to await death.’16
Philosophers always seem to be dealing with death.
We have learned from Plato,17,18 one of the giants of philosophy in antiquity, that Asclepius, the god of healing and medicine, believed that in cases where there was no feasible effective treatment and when life expectancy was short, the physician could refuse to administer any kind of treatment, since to treat such a patient would be of no benefit to the person or to society.Pythagoras is considered to be one of the greatest philosophers and mathematicians in ancient Greece. Born on the island of Samos in c. 580 BC, he died in southern Italy in approximately 500 BC. Pythagoras founded the Pythagorean School, which was active from the 6th century BC until the first post-Christian centuries.Pythagorean philosophers believed in the transmigration of the soul and, based on a combination of philosophical and theological beliefs about life, they were against a voluntary end to life because all life is sacred.19 For the same reason, even surgical procedures were forbidden.Plato was born in c. 427 BC and died in 347 BC, but only during the last decade of his life did he begin to write his dialogues.20-24 A pupil of the great teacher Socrates, Plato is considered to be one of the greatest philosophers ever born.Believing in the harmony of life, Plato was against what nowadays is called active euthanasia. In his Laws20 he suggests in a general way that doctors should be punished by death, if by administering any sort of drug they contribute to the termination of life. Moreover, in Phaedo he opposes a man who committed suicide because it is against the will of the gods and thus not allowed.21However, although Plato states that those who commit suicide should be buried in unmarked, solitary graves in deserted areas, he is tolerant of people who suffer from insurmountable pain. He recognizes the right of the desperate individual to commit suicide, when faced with unavoidable misfortune due to having led a less than good life.22 Plato takes into account the insuperable unhappiness of such people. In Laws IV he states that there should be some alleviation for these people. In all other circumstances, suicide is the result of ‘a spirit of slothful and abject cowardice.’23In the Republic24 Plato states that patients unable due to their suffering to live a normal life, should not receive treatment for the prolongation of life. It is evident that Plato is against active euthanasia but that he accepts passive euthanasia. In this work he refers to Asclepius, saying that it is not reasonable to prolong the suffering of a man who is not useful to himself and to society.24Aristotle was born in c. 384 BC in Stagirus, northern Greece, and died in 323 BC. He was the son of the physician Nicomachus and studied under Plato in Athens. For Europe, Aristotle is simply ‘The Philosopher’9 or, as Dante remarked, ‘He is master of those that know.’9 Aristotle was appointed by King Philip of Macedonia to be the tutor of his son, Alexander, who later became King Alexander the Great.Aristotle deals indirectly with euthanasia and refers to suicide in a short passages in two books: Eudemian Ethics IV25 and Nichomachean Ethics V.26 In the former, he states that people seeking death are weak and depraved: ‘The base among mankind, by toil o'ercome conceive a love of death,’25 and in the latter, he writes, ‘But to seek death in order to escape from poverty, or the pangs of love or from pain or sorrow is not the act of courageous man, but rather of a coward.’26Analysing Aristotle's theory of justice—just and unjust—he says that to commit suicide is to do oneself an injustice.1 It is significant that both Aristotle and Plato refer to suicide not from an ethical standpoint, but from the viewpoint of the law, supporting the theory that to commit suicide is to do oneself an injustice: ‘Suicide does what the law forbids and this means that one is doing something unjust.’ Later in Plato's Laws V23 he proposes that suicide is a criminal offence, except when the act is committed under judicial order, or when one is being forced by an unavoidable misfortune or when one is so disgraced that life has become unbearable. Plato additionally says that if a person cannot resist the temptation to participate in such heinous crimes as treason or even temple robbery, then that person should rid oneself of life, looking at death as the preferable alternative.23Taking into account that the purpose of the law is to help people become morally good, then a good legal system will make people act justly and temperately.1Regarding the question as to whether in killing oneself one has violated justice, Aristotle says that it is not the individual but the society that has been unjustly treated by the law-breaker, and for this reason the latter should be punished by burial in disgrace.26Epicurus (c. 341 BC-270 BC) was born on the island of Samos, though his father Neoclis was Athenian; the family moved to Samos in 351 BC. In 306 BC, Epicurus returned to Athens, where he established his own philosophical school—the Epicurian Gardens—where he taught for 35 years. Of his numerous books, 43 have been handed down to us.Epicurus was very much insistent on the unreasonableness of suicide,1 and states that the motives which lead somebody to kill himself are not physiological. The reasons which may lead a person to such an act are that perhaps one is tired of life or one is afraid of dying. It is reasonable for a psychologically healthy man to try to overcome this either by changing the way he lives or by facing his fear of dying. It is known that some are driven to death by this very fear.1 However, Epicurus states that each of us is free to put an end to our life if we are suffering from unbearable pain, provided this misfortune is neither brief nor intermittent. Cicero writes that Epicurus used to say ‘I quit life's theatre when the play has ceased to please us.’1Hippocrates (c. 460 BC-377 BC), a contemporary of Plato's, established scientific medicine. Lyons and Petrucelli27 write that in this regard ‘From then on [5th century] into modern times, medicine in the western world and in parts of the East, would be continually under the influence of the teaching of the man named Hippocrates.’Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, was against active euthanasia. The well-known Hippocratic Oath prohibits doctors from administering any drug which could result in death:19,28 ‘I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make any suggestion to this effect.’ This concurs with the principles of the Pythagorean philosophers who influenced Hippocrates and who were against any unnatural termination of life.19However, Hippocrates seems to be in favour of passive euthanasia, in cases of gravely ill patients. In his work The Art29 he suggests that a physician should not treat a patient who has an incurable disease: ‘To refuse to treat those who are overmastered by their disease realizing that in such cases, medicine is powerless.’ In so stating, Hippocrates is either suggesting a kind of ‘defensive’ medicine, in order to protect the medical profession from failures in treatment, or he is expressing a deep respect for the inviolable nature of life.30 Lastly, another theory may also come into play, that is, to prevent physicians from the temptation to take care of a patient just for strictly professional reasons, or to obtain more fees.
We have learned from Plato,17,18 one of the giants of philosophy in antiquity, that Asclepius, the god of healing and medicine, believed that in cases where there was no feasible effective treatment and when life expectancy was short, the physician could refuse to administer any kind of treatment, since to treat such a patient would be of no benefit to the person or to society.Pythagoras is considered to be one of the greatest philosophers and mathematicians in ancient Greece. Born on the island of Samos in c. 580 BC, he died in southern Italy in approximately 500 BC. Pythagoras founded the Pythagorean School, which was active from the 6th century BC until the first post-Christian centuries.Pythagorean philosophers believed in the transmigration of the soul and, based on a combination of philosophical and theological beliefs about life, they were against a voluntary end to life because all life is sacred.19 For the same reason, even surgical procedures were forbidden.Plato was born in c. 427 BC and died in 347 BC, but only during the last decade of his life did he begin to write his dialogues.20-24 A pupil of the great teacher Socrates, Plato is considered to be one of the greatest philosophers ever born.Believing in the harmony of life, Plato was against what nowadays is called active euthanasia. In his Laws20 he suggests in a general way that doctors should be punished by death, if by administering any sort of drug they contribute to the termination of life. Moreover, in Phaedo he opposes a man who committed suicide because it is against the will of the gods and thus not allowed.21However, although Plato states that those who commit suicide should be buried in unmarked, solitary graves in deserted areas, he is tolerant of people who suffer from insurmountable pain. He recognizes the right of the desperate individual to commit suicide, when faced with unavoidable misfortune due to having led a less than good life.22 Plato takes into account the insuperable unhappiness of such people. In Laws IV he states that there should be some alleviation for these people. In all other circumstances, suicide is the result of ‘a spirit of slothful and abject cowardice.’23In the Republic24 Plato states that patients unable due to their suffering to live a normal life, should not receive treatment for the prolongation of life. It is evident that Plato is against active euthanasia but that he accepts passive euthanasia. In this work he refers to Asclepius, saying that it is not reasonable to prolong the suffering of a man who is not useful to himself and to society.24Aristotle was born in c. 384 BC in Stagirus, northern Greece, and died in 323 BC. He was the son of the physician Nicomachus and studied under Plato in Athens. For Europe, Aristotle is simply ‘The Philosopher’9 or, as Dante remarked, ‘He is master of those that know.’9 Aristotle was appointed by King Philip of Macedonia to be the tutor of his son, Alexander, who later became King Alexander the Great.Aristotle deals indirectly with euthanasia and refers to suicide in a short passages in two books: Eudemian Ethics IV25 and Nichomachean Ethics V.26 In the former, he states that people seeking death are weak and depraved: ‘The base among mankind, by toil o'ercome conceive a love of death,’25 and in the latter, he writes, ‘But to seek death in order to escape from poverty, or the pangs of love or from pain or sorrow is not the act of courageous man, but rather of a coward.’26Analysing Aristotle's theory of justice—just and unjust—he says that to commit suicide is to do oneself an injustice.1 It is significant that both Aristotle and Plato refer to suicide not from an ethical standpoint, but from the viewpoint of the law, supporting the theory that to commit suicide is to do oneself an injustice: ‘Suicide does what the law forbids and this means that one is doing something unjust.’ Later in Plato's Laws V23 he proposes that suicide is a criminal offence, except when the act is committed under judicial order, or when one is being forced by an unavoidable misfortune or when one is so disgraced that life has become unbearable. Plato additionally says that if a person cannot resist the temptation to participate in such heinous crimes as treason or even temple robbery, then that person should rid oneself of life, looking at death as the preferable alternative.23Taking into account that the purpose of the law is to help people become morally good, then a good legal system will make people act justly and temperately.1Regarding the question as to whether in killing oneself one has violated justice, Aristotle says that it is not the individual but the society that has been unjustly treated by the law-breaker, and for this reason the latter should be punished by burial in disgrace.26Epicurus (c. 341 BC-270 BC) was born on the island of Samos, though his father Neoclis was Athenian; the family moved to Samos in 351 BC. In 306 BC, Epicurus returned to Athens, where he established his own philosophical school—the Epicurian Gardens—where he taught for 35 years. Of his numerous books, 43 have been handed down to us.Epicurus was very much insistent on the unreasonableness of suicide,1 and states that the motives which lead somebody to kill himself are not physiological. The reasons which may lead a person to such an act are that perhaps one is tired of life or one is afraid of dying. It is reasonable for a psychologically healthy man to try to overcome this either by changing the way he lives or by facing his fear of dying. It is known that some are driven to death by this very fear.1 However, Epicurus states that each of us is free to put an end to our life if we are suffering from unbearable pain, provided this misfortune is neither brief nor intermittent. Cicero writes that Epicurus used to say ‘I quit life's theatre when the play has ceased to please us.’1Hippocrates (c. 460 BC-377 BC), a contemporary of Plato's, established scientific medicine. Lyons and Petrucelli27 write that in this regard ‘From then on [5th century] into modern times, medicine in the western world and in parts of the East, would be continually under the influence of the teaching of the man named Hippocrates.’Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, was against active euthanasia. The well-known Hippocratic Oath prohibits doctors from administering any drug which could result in death:19,28 ‘I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make any suggestion to this effect.’ This concurs with the principles of the Pythagorean philosophers who influenced Hippocrates and who were against any unnatural termination of life.19However, Hippocrates seems to be in favour of passive euthanasia, in cases of gravely ill patients. In his work The Art29 he suggests that a physician should not treat a patient who has an incurable disease: ‘To refuse to treat those who are overmastered by their disease realizing that in such cases, medicine is powerless.’ In so stating, Hippocrates is either suggesting a kind of ‘defensive’ medicine, in order to protect the medical profession from failures in treatment, or he is expressing a deep respect for the inviolable nature of life.30 Lastly, another theory may also come into play, that is, to prevent physicians from the temptation to take care of a patient just for strictly professional reasons, or to obtain more fees.
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