Ashley asked:

This is not exactly a philosophical question but I was wondering whether you could help me with a
statement in Kenneth Head's essay, 'Does Life Have a meaning?'. Head states that, 'The search for
knowledge does not, however, offer a universal panacea for the anguish of being. This point, also, is
emphasised by Aristotle, again, in his Eudemian Ethics, when he speaks of 'those who admire
Sardanapallus, or Smindurides of Sybara or one or other of those who live the pleasure-loving life...'. I
would like to know who Smindurides of Sybara was? I am currently engaged in genealogical research
and I am trying to find the origins of the name 'Sybara'. I conducted an Internet search for this name
and found Mr.Head's essay.

I hope you will not mind receiving this unusual enquiry.

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The following extracts from the entries in the 'Shorter Oxford Dictionary on Historical Principlesmay
be of interest to you:

Sybarite 1. A native or citizen of Sybaris, an ancient Greek city of southern Italy, noted for its
effeminacy and luxury. 2. A person devoted to luxury or pleasure, an effeminate voluptuary or
sensualist.

2. The Lords of Lacedaemon were true soldiers, But ours are Sybarites BYRON. The very room for
   an artist and a sybarite 1863.

Sybaritic1. Of or pertaining to Sybaris or its inhabitants 1786. 2. Effeminately luxurious 1619.

2. Sybaritic dinners WARBURTON. An atomsphere of sybaritic enjoyment 1876.

Geoffrey Klempner