GRICE E ZOPIRO -- ROMA -- FILOSOFIA ITALIANA -- L'ARMA DEL FILOSOFO A CUMAE -- LUIGI SPERANZA

Grice e Zopiro – Roma – filosofia italiana – l’arma del filosofo a Cumae -- Luigi Speranza (Taranto). Filosofo italiano. Pythagorean. Giamblico. He appears to have specialised in mechanical matters, and in particular the design and construction of weapons. His skills were evidently in demand and there are reports of him working in places as far apart as Miletus and Cumae. Grice: “That he is of ‘Hellenic’ origin is evident by the fact that his name starts with a ‘Z,’ a letter which Catone managed to expel from the Latin alphabet. Catone would say: ‘z’ is the sound a corpse makes just before it becomes one’ – rudely. He probably knew. Giamblico, of Calcide, seems to have been very familiar with Italian geography, since he lists all these ‘Pythagoreans,’ who managed to settle (while the sect was banned in Crotone) all over the place. Taranto is close enough, but it seems indeed that Zopiro’s skills led him as far as Cumae. Recall taxis or ubers were unknown then!’. The Swimming-Pool Library.