Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Plato in Antiquity

Contents

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Notes on Contributors

Introduction

I Preliminaries

II Organization of This Volume

Introduction: The Old Academy to Cicero

I The Heirs of Plato

II Aristotle and His School

III The “First Interpreter” and the Academy under Polemo

IV The Hellenistic Philosophies in Debate

V The World of Cicero

Speusippus and Xenocrates on the Pursuit and Ends of Philosophy

I Introduction

II Speusippus’ Mathematikos: The Hunt for Knowledge

III Xenocrates on the Happy Man

IV Conclusion

The Influence of the Platonic Dialogues on Stoic Ethics from Zeno to Panaetius of Rhodes

Plato and the Freedom of the New Academy

I Introduction

II A New Academy

III From Polemo to Arcesilaus

IV From Carneades to Cicero

Return to Plato and Transition to Middle Platonism in Cicero1

I Cicero’s Reception in Outline

1) Testimony to a Pivotal Period

2) Rebirth of Platonism

3) Writing of Dialogues

II Two Case Studies: Gorgias and Timaeus

1) Gorgias: Philosophy, Rhetoric and Public life

2) The Timaeus: Pythagoreanism and Middle Platonism

Introduction: Early Imperial Reception of Plato

From Fringe Reading to Core Curriculum: Commentary, Introduction, and Doctrinal Summary

I The Problem

II The Commentary-like Works

III Introductions to Reading Plato

IV Doctrinal Summaries

V Conclusion

Philo of Alexandria

I Introduction: Philo and His Project

1) Philo’s Relation to Plato in Historical Perspective

2) Philo’s References to Plato and Socrates

3) The Corpus Used

II Philo’s Use of Plato

III Conclusion

Plutarch of Chaeronea and the Anonymous Commentator on the Theaetetus

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Theon of Smyrna: Re-thinking Platonic Mathematics in Middle Platonism

I Nicomachus: “Platonically Orientated” Mathematics

II Theon’s Expositio and Platonic Mathematical Exegesis

1) Theon’s Expositio

2) Other Technical Exegeses

III Epilogue

Cupid’s Swan from the Academy (De Plat. 1.1, 183): Apuleius’ Reception of Plato

I By Way of Introduction: Methodological Orientation

II A Quick Look at the Broad Outlines of Apuleius’ Platonism

1) Eruditio

2) Ad bene vivendum

3) Ad bene dicendum

III The Plato of Apuleius’ Platonism

Alcinous’ Reception of Plato

I Introduction

II Alcinous on World-Generation

III Alcinous’ Psychology

IV Conclusion

Numenius: Portrait of a Platonicus

I Realia

II Identity

III On the Good

IV Myth and its exegesis

V The Teacher

VI The epigoni

Galen and Middle Platonism: The Case of the Demiurge1

Introduction

I

II

III

IV

V Conclusion

Variations of Receptions of Plato during the Second Sophistic1

I The Greek Philosopher-Sophist Dio

II The Literary Philosopher: Plutarch

III The Greek Orator: Aristides

IV The Satirist: Lucian

V The Latin Sophist: Apuleius

VI The Platonic Rhetor: Maximus

VIII The Doctor: Galen

IX The Greek Novelist: Longus

X The New Rite: Justin Martyr and Clement109

XI Conclusion

Introduction: Early Christianity and Late Antique Platonism

Origen to Evagrius

I The Background: Clement

II Select Examples from Origen (with a Hint at Eusebius)

III Select Points in Nyssen

V Some Case Studies from Evagrius

Sethian Gnostic Appropriations of Plato

I Introduction

II The Metaphysics of the Sethian Platonizing Treatises

III Allogenes: A Major Sethian Gnostic Appropriation of Plato

IV Further Instances of Sethian Appropriations of Plato’s Dialogues

1) Intelligible Reality

2) The Modes of Being and Non-Being

3) Dialectic

4) The Ascent and Descent of the Soul

5) The Demiurge of the Timaeus and the Sethian Creator

IV Conclusion

Plotinus and Platonism

I Introduction

II

III

Porphyry

I Introduction

II Porphyry on Substance

III Porphyry on Creation in the Timaeus

IV Porphyry on Matter and Evil

VI Porphyry on Fate, Providence and Free will

VII Conclusion

The Anonymous Commentary on the Parmenides

Iamblichus, the Commentary Tradition, and the Soul

I Iamblichus and the Platonic Commentaries

II The Iamblichean Universe and the Place of Gods, Superior Classes, and Human Souls Within It

III Iamblichus and the Position of Soul in the Platonic Universe

IV Conclusion

Amelius and Theodore of Asine

I Evidential Prolegomenon

II Platonic Commentators?

III Their Engagement with Plato’s Dialogues

IV Plato and Others

V Conclusions

Plato’s Political Dialogues in the Writings of Julian the Emperor

I Julian’s Image of Plato

II Julian’s Knowledge and Use of Plato’s Dialogues

III Julian’s Use of Plato’s Political Dialogues

IV Conclusion

Plato’s Women Readers

I Introduction

II Methodology

III Women in Plato’s Academy

IV Women Reading Plato in the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial Periods

V Women Reading Plato in Late Antiquity: Neoplatonism

1) Women in the Circle of Plotinus and Porphyry

2) Women in Iamblichus’ Circle and among His Philosophic Successors

3) Women in the Athenian School: Asclepigeneia

4) Women in the Alexandrian School: Hypatia

VI Conclusion

Calcidius

I Calcidius’ Identity3

II Calcidius’ Sources

III The Project

IV Translation and Commentary

Augustine’s Plato

I Augustine’s “Handbook Plato”

II Augustine’s Sources

Orthodoxy and Allegory: Syrianus’ Metaphysical Hermeneutics

I Introduction: Syrianus’ Exegetical Principles

II yrianus on Plato’s Phaedo: Textual Fidelity and Its Limits

III Finding Symbols of Divine Orders in Plato’s Parmenides and Philebus

IV Allegory and Mythology in Plato’s Timaeus

V Conclusion

VI Appendix: Syrianus on Plato: Testimonia of Syrianus

Hermias: On Plato’s Phaedrus

I The Importance of the in Phaedrum

II The skopos of the Phaedrus and Its Structure

III Intertextual Links

IV Socratic Expertise and Socratic Ignorance

V The Nature and Purpose of Myth

VI Written and Unwritten Plato

VII Conclusion

Proclus and the Authority of Plato

I Diadochos and Teacher

II Proclus’ Works

III Plato the Theologian

IV Exegesis and the Modes of Teaching

Damascius the Platonic Successor: Socratic Activity and Philosophy in the 6th Century CE

I Introduction

II Damascius in Context: Philosophy’s “Extreme Old Age”

III Damascius the Platonic Commentator

IV The Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles, a Socratic Treatise?

The Anonymous Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy

I Introduction

II The Life of Plato

1) Divine Kinship and Philosophical Superiority

2) Socrates and Skepticism

III Writing and Dialogue Form

1) The Underlying Cause of Writing and the Unwritten Doctrines

2) Taxis

3) The Dialogue as a Microcosm

Olympiodorus of Alexandria

I Plato and the Platonic Curriculum

II Works

III Interpretation of Plato and Thought

IV Conclusions

Simplicius of Cilicia: Plato’s Last Interpreter

I Introduction

II Simplicius’ General Approach to Reading Plato

III Specifics of Simplicius’ Approach

IV Simplicius on Misinterpreting Plato

V Conclusion

Conclusion

Bibliography