Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: Abridged in One Volume.

^ a b c Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, Gerhard Bromiley, Geoffrey (1985).

Heidegger and the Greeks: Interpretive Essays. Ancient Anger: Perspectives from Homer to Galen. Eros: from Hesiod's Theogony to late antiquity.

^ Stampolidis, Nicholas Tassoulas, Yorgos (2009).

This can be understood within the philosophy's position that emotions are by definition excessive or are excessive impulses that exceed the measure of natural reason and – as in other forms of excess – leads to other evils of irrationality. The Stoics held a negative view of hēdonē, arguing that it is not in accordance with nature and reason.

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Epicurus uses hēdonē in reference to only physical pleasures. Another Epicurean reading, which distinguished hēdonē from terpsis, referred to it as a feeling of pleasure that is episodic and might or might not be beneficial. In the philosophy of Epicurus, hēdonē is described as a pleasure that may or may not derive from actions that are virtuous, whereas another form of pleasure, terpsis, is always virtuous. Martin Heidegger's interpretation of Aristotelian philosophy explains that pleasure is a movement of the soul and that tranquility arises from it. An example is the concept of proper pleasure or oikeia hedone, which has been discussed in Poetics and considered a process of restoration. For the concept to be good or true, it must conform to nature, reason, or virtue and that, although, hēdonē can harmonize with these three, Aristotle gave it less value. It is good if it is a consequence of a virtuous life as opposed to the position of some philosophers such as Aristippus, which holds that it is wholly good. Hēdonē, in Aristotelian ethics, is part of the philosopher's account of virtue and that pleasure (along with pain) is said to reveal a person's character. The philosopher described pathe in these words: 'Let the emotions be all those things on account of which people change their minds and differ in regard to their judgments, and upon which attend pain and pleasure.' There is no evidence that she was ever the object of cult worship.Īristotle identified it as one of the two elements or components of pathe, with the other being lype or pain. Her equivalent in Roman mythology is Voluptas. Her opposites were the Algea, personifications of pain. She was associated more specifically with sensual pleasure. In Greek mythology, Hedone is personified as a goddess of pleasure, enjoyment, and delight, as the daughter born from the union of Eros (personification of love) and Psyche (personification of the soul). It is also the root of the English word ' hedonism'.

Hedone ( Ancient Greek: ἡδονή, hēdonē) is the Greek word meaning ' pleasure.' It was an important concept in Ancient Greek philosophy, especially in the Epicurean school.

Define hedonism