Melissa (Philosopher)

Melissa (3rd century BC)^[1]^[2] was a Pythagorean philosopher. Her name derives from the Greek word melli meaning honey.

Nothing is known about her life. She is known only from a letter written to another woman named Cleareta (or Clearete). The letter is written in a Doric Greek dialect dated to around the 3rd century BC.^[2] The letter discusses the need for a wife to be modest and virtuous, and stresses that she should obey her husband.^[2] The content has led to the suggestion that it was written pseudonymously by a man.^[2] On the other hand, the author of the letter does not suggest that a woman is naturally inferior or weak, or that she needs a man's rule to be virtuous.^[1]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Prudence Allen (22 May 1997). The concept of woman: the Aristotelian revolution, 750 BC–AD 1250. p. 150. ISBN 9780802842701. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZH-iOIWEVVEC.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Ian Plant (2004). Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome: An Anthology. Equinox. p. 83. ISBN 1904768024. https://books.google.com/books?id=uYGay_yqBLUC.

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[allen-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Prudence Allen (22 May 1997). The concept of woman: the Aristotelian revolution, 750 BC–AD 1250. p. 150. ISBN 9780802842701. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZH-iOIWEVVEC.

[plant-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Ian Plant (2004). Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome: An Anthology. Equinox. p. 83. ISBN 1904768024. https://books.google.com/books?id=uYGay_yqBLUC.