Classical Views of Friendship

[klplockmeyer]

After working on a project about Aristotle and Cicero's views of friendship, I have been wondering: How do you define friendship? During the Middle Ages, a number of Christian scholars discouraged Christians from having friendships as they would draw our affection away from God. What role should friends play in the life of Christians? What does it mean to be "friends"?

What are your thoughts?

[litteratus]

i thought it was interesting what xenophon had to say on the subject when he described education of cyrus in the 'anabasis.' ... "whenever anyone did him a kindness or an injury, he showed himself anxious to go beyond him in those respects, and some used to mention a wish of his, that 'he desired to live long enough to outdo both those who had done him good, and those who had done him ill, in the requital that he should make." (chapter IX)

this also seems to be concurrent with the views held by euthyphro and antigone- that the pious obligation that one owes to those around him is to repay a friend's kindness with greater kindness, and an enemy's malefaction with greater malefaction. and yet, for us as christians, we are called to understand the radical new message that Christ has to preach concerning friendship- that we are to love all of our neighbors... and not just in an ordinary way- we are called to love them in a radical way! we are to conquer evil with good, and thus the bounds of friendship have in a way been redrawn.

i don't know if that answers your question, klplockeyer, but upon reading your post, my thoughts were immediately turned towards cyrus.