Paetus, it does not hurt: altruistic suicide in the Greco-Roman world.
Emile Durkheim, a student of classical education, studied altruistic suicide through an exploration of ancient culture. He associated the concept to civilizations in which people have not reached a sufficient degree of individuation and held that the Greek and Roman civilizations had already developed and were not strongly integrated, a precondition for frequent altruistic suicide. Yet, studies of Greeks and Romans show ample examples. Loyalty and devotion appear to be especially powerful motives. It is concluded that altruistic suicide had its place inside the Greco-Roman world.
van Hooff
Anton
A
Department of History, Nijmegen University, The Netherland. anton.van.hooff@wanadoo.nl