Ariston

Ariston (from Greek: Ἀρίστων) may refer to:

Ariston of Athens

Ariston of Collytus (Greek: Ἀρίστων; died c. 424 BC), was the father of the Greek philosopher Plato (originally named Aristocles). Legend holds that he was descended from Codrus, the ancient king of Athens.Diogenes Laërtius on the authority of Speusippus and others, relates a story that "Ariston made violent love to Perictione, then in her bloom, and failed to win her; and that, when he ceased to offer violence, Apollo appeared to him in a dream, whereupon he left her unmolested until her child was born." Ariston died when Plato was still a boy, and his mother Perictione remarried Pyrilampes, a friend of the Athenian politician Pericles.

Ariston had three other children by Perictione: Glaucon, Adeimantus, and Potone.

Notes

References

Diogenes Laërtius, Life of Plato, translated by Robert Drew Hicks (1925).

Goat Song

Goat Song (1967) is a novel by Frank Yerby describing ancient Sparta and the Peloponnesian War with Athens.

Plot summary

Ariston, a Spartiate, is the hero cursed and blessed by a matchless beauty that was the Hellenic ideal. This was a time of burgeoning culture and festering decadence, of excessive cruelty and sexuality. Here are found the battlefield and the helot slave market, the temple and the brothel, the discourse of Socrates and the Dionysian revel of Alcibiades, the brutal code of Sparta and the brilliant sophistication of Athens. Ariston is enslaved and brought to Athens where he earns his freedom and fortune only to face Sparta as an Athenian. He prays at the newly built Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis for safety and victory in the war against Sparta.

The title refers to advice given to Ariston as a desirable young man by a much older mentor: "So dance to the goat song while you can; hark to the panpipes in the hills. Put vine leaves in your hair; drink deeply. Clasp in hot embrace fair youths and maids."