ΑΥΤΑΡΚΕΙΑ
Autarkeia — to be sufficient in oneself, not to depend on anything else — runs through the major schools of ancient philosophy as an ideal, though each interprets it radically differently: Cynic renunciation of needs, Epicurean moderation of pleasures, Aristotelian complete life, Stoic inner freedom. From individual ethics the concept extended into politics (the self-sufficient polis) and physics (the self-sufficient god).
REPORT ERRORDefinition
According to the Liddell-Scott-Jones Lexicon, αὐτάρκεια is «self-sufficiency, independence, competence», the state of one who suffices for himself without external aid. It is formed from αὐτός (self) and the root ἀρκ- (ἀρκέω: to be enough, suffice, be capable). The word denotes from the outset something positive: not privation but fullness.
In the philosophical tradition autarkeia becomes a supreme ideal in radically different versions. The Cynics (Antisthenes, Diogenes) pursued it through the renunciation of needs: the fewer one wants, the more self-sufficient one is. Epicurus linked it with the wise measurement of pleasures: autarkeia provides freedom from the fear of losing what one has. Aristotle defined it differently: eudaimonia is «perfect and self-sufficient» — a complete life that includes family, friends, political action.
The political dimension of autarkeia is equally important. For Aristotle (Politics I.2), the polis is the first self-sufficient formation, the community able to secure for itself economic, military, and cultural sufficiency. Finally, theological autarkeia — the property of the divine not to need anything — passed from Aristotle and the Stoics into Christianity.
Etymology
Cognates: αὐτάρκης, ἀρκέω (to suffice), ἐπαρκέω, ἐξαρκέω, ἄρκιος (sufficient), ἀρκετός. Related philosophical terms: αὐτονομία (autonomy), αὐτοτέλεια, ἀνεξαρτησία. Opposites: ἔνδεια (want), πενία, ἔλλειψις.
Main Meanings
- Self-sufficiency, competence — The general meaning — the state of one who has what he needs within himself and does not depend on others.
- Cynic autarkeia — In Antisthenes and Diogenes, freedom through the renunciation of needs; I live with what is strictly necessary, without social conventions.
- Aristotelian autarkeia — Eudaimonia as «perfect and self-sufficient» — a complete life with friendships, family, political action, and contemplation.
- Epicurean autarkeia — The wise measurement of pleasures; whoever limits his desires to the natural and necessary is self-sufficient.
- Stoic autarkeia — The inner freedom of the sage who has within himself all the goods — virtue — and does not depend on the «indifferent» external goods.
- Political autarkeia (Aristotle) — The capacity of the polis to secure by itself the survival and flourishing of its citizens — the telos of political community.
- Theological autarkeia — The property of the divine not to need anything external; a fundamental attribute of God in Aristotle, the Stoics, and Christianity.
- Economic autarkeia — The capacity of a household or economy to produce what it needs; in ancient Greek thought, the ideal of the farmer-citizen.
Philosophical Journey
Autarkeia traces perhaps the longest trajectory of all Hellenistic ethical concepts, running through Cynics, Peripatetics, Epicureans, Stoics, and finally Christians.
Lexarithmic Analysis
The lexarithmos of the word ΑΥΤΑΡΚΕΙΑ is 838, from the sum of its letter values:
838 decomposes into 800 (hundreds) + 30 (tens) + 8 (units).
The 18 Methods
Applying the 18 traditional lexarithmic methods to the word ΑΥΤΑΡΚΕΙΑ:
| Method | Result | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Isopsephy | 838 | Base lexarithmos |
| Decade Numerology | 1 | |
| Letter Count | 9 | |
| Cumulative | 8/30/800 | Units 8 · Tens 30 · Hundreds 800 |
| Odd/Even | Even | Feminine force |
| Left/Right Hand | Right | Divine (≥100) |
| Quotient | — | Comparative method |
| Palindromes | Yes (numeric) | Number reads same reversed |
| Onomancy | — | Comparative |
| Sphere of Democritus | — | Divination with lunar day |
| Zodiacal Isopsephy | Jupiter ♃ / Aquarius ♒ | 838 mod 7 = 5 · 838 mod 12 = 10 |
Isopsephic Words (838)
The LSJ lexicon contains a total of 70 words with lexarithmos 838. For the full catalog and AI semantic filtering, see the interactive tool.
Sources & Bibliography
- Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., Jones, H. S. — A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940, s.v. αὐτάρκεια.
- Aristotle — Nicomachean Ethics I.7 (1097b), Politics I.2 (1252b28). Loeb Classical Library.
- Epicurus — Letter to Menoeceus 130. In Diogenes Laertius X. Loeb Classical Library.
- Rich, A. N. M. — «The Cynic Conception of AYTAPKEIA». Mnemosyne, ser. IV, vol. 9 (1956): 23-29.
- Long, A. A., Sedley, D. N. — The Hellenistic Philosophers, Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 1987.
- Marcus Aurelius — Meditations. Loeb Classical Library.
- Plotinus — Enneads V.3, VI.9. Transl. A. H. Armstrong, Loeb Classical Library.