Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Plato in Antiquity

679 Pages·2017·3.44 MB·English

by  Harold Tarrant et al. (eds.)

Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Plato in Antiquity
Brill’s Companions to Classical
Reception
Series Editor
Kyriakos N. Demetriou (University of Cyprus)
volume 13
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bccr
Brill’s Companion to the
Reception of Plato in Antiquity
Edited by
Harold Tarrant, Danielle A. Layne,
Dirk Baltzly and François Renaud
leiden | boston
Cover illustration: Group IX/SUW, No. 1: The Swan, No. 1, by Hilma af Klint. Photo by Albin Dahlström,
courtesy of Moderna Museet-Stockholm. The image was chosen by the volume editors for the swan as a
symbol of Plato’s elusive nature, see chapter 9. The painting also suggests the Platonic theme of reflections,
while white and black swans symbolize cooperation across the hemispheres.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tarrant, Harold, editor.
Title: Brill’s companion to the reception of Plato in antiquity / edited by
Harold Tarrant, University of Newcastle Australia, Danielle A. Layne,
Gonzaga University, Dirk Baltzly, University of Tasmania and Monash
University, and François Renaud, Universite de Moncton.
Description: Boston : Brill, 2018. | Series: Brill's companions to classical
reception, ISSN 2213-1426 ; volume 13 | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017041340 | ISBN 9789004270695 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Plato.
Classification: LCC B395 .B7535 2017 | DDC 184–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017041340
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
ISSN 2213-1426
ISBN 978-90-04-27069-5 (hardback)
ISBN 978-90-04-35538-5 (e-book)
Copyright 2018 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi, Brill
Sense and Hotei Publishing.
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations x
Notes on Contributors xvi
Introduction 1
part i
Early Developments in Reception
Introduction: The Old Academy to Cicero 10
1 Speusippus and Xenocrates on the Pursuit and Ends of Philosophy 29
Phillip Sidney Horky
2 The Influence of the Platonic Dialogues on Stoic Ethics from
Zeno to Panaetius of Rhodes 46
Francesca Alesse
3 Plato and the Freedom of the New Academy 58
Charles E. Snyder
4 Return to Plato and Transition to Middle Platonism in Cicero 72
François Renaud
part ii
Early Imperial Reception of Plato
Introduction: Early Imperial Reception of Plato 92
5 From Fringe Reading to Core Curriculum: Commentary,
Introduction and Doctrinal Summary 101
Harold Tarrant
6 Philo of Alexandria 115
Sami Yli-Karjanmaa
vi contents
7 Plutarch of Chaeronea and the Anonymous Commentator
on the Theaetetus 130
Mauro Bonazzi
8 Theon of Smyrna: Re-thinking Platonic Mathematics in Middle
Platonism 143
Federico M. Petrucci
9 Cupid’s Swan from the Academy (De Plat. 1.1, 183): Apuleius’
Reception of Plato 156
Geert Roskam
10 Alcinous’ Reception of Plato 171
Carl S. O’Brien
11 Numenius: Portrait of a Platonicus 183
Polymnia Athanassiadi
12 Galen and Middle Platonism: The Case of the Demiurge 206
Julius Rocca
13 Variations of Receptions of Plato during the Second Sophistic 223
Ryan C. Fowler
part iii
Early Christianity and Late Antique Platonism
Introduction: Early Christianity and Late Antique Platonism 252
14 Origen to Evagrius 271
Ilaria Ramelli
15 Sethian Gnostic Appropriations of Plato 292
John D. Turner
16 Plotinus and Platonism 316
Lloyd P. Gerson
17 Porphyry 336
Michael Chase
contents vii
18 The Anonymous Commentary on the Parmenides 351
Dennis Clark
19 Iamblichus, the Commentary Tradition, and the Soul 366
John Finamore
20 Amelius and Theodore of Asine 381
Dirk Baltzly
21 Plato’s Political Dialogues in the Writings of Julian the Emperor 400
Dominic J. O’Meara
22 Plato’s Women Readers 411
Crystal Addey
23 Calcidius 433
Christina Hoenig
24 Augustine’s Plato 448
Gerd Van Riel
25 Orthodoxy and Allegory: Syrianus’ Metaphysical Hermeneutics 470
Sarah Klitenic Wear
26 Hermias: On Plato’s Phaedrus 486
Harold Tarrant and Dirk Baltzly
27 Proclus and the Authority of Plato 498
Jan Opsomer
28 Damascius the Platonic Successor: Socratic Activity and Philosophy
in the 6th Century CE 515
Sara Ahbel-Rappe
29 The Anonymous Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy 533
Danielle A. Layne
30 Olympiodorus of Alexandria 555
Michael Griffin
viii contents
31 Simplicius of Cilicia: Plato’s Last Interpreter 569
Gary Gabor
Conclusion 580
Bibliography 583
General Index 639
Index Locorum 647
Acknowledgements
The Editors would like first to thank contributors for their patience and coop-
eration during the completion of this volume. Cooperation and collaboration
are the key to the success of any composite volume with this kind of scope.
Secondly, thanks to Kyriakos Demetriou for his encouragement and help.
Funding has not been an issue for the actual work of editing, but it has been of
major importance in equipping members of the team to undertake a project of
this magnitude. Tarrant and Baltzly have since 1999 benefitted from the gen-
erous funding of the Australian Research Council under their Discovery grant
scheme. One recent grant (2009–12: DP0986334, ‘Academies under Stress’)
included Renaud also. A further grant (2012–15: DP120102425, ‘Plato’s Myth
Voice’) was led by Professor Benitez but also included Tarrant and Baltzly.
Though the latter grant had different work in view, it has kept our minds fo-
cused on Platonic reception in antiquity and, in particular, facilitated Baltzly’s
work on Hermias. Renaud would like also to acknowledge the assistance of two
three-year research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada for work on Cicero and Olympiodorus, both as Platonic ex-
egetes. One of the most helpful things to come from this funding and the sheer
encouragement that it has offered is the various collaborations between mem-
bers of this team, without which Tarrant would have had neither the courage
not the expertise to be involved in such a scheme. Layne is in debt to the sup-
port she has received from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Philosophy
Department of Gonzaga University. Of course, each of us have family, friends,
and colleagues, too many to be enumerated for each of our number, who are
not forgotten either. Without them none of us would have the stamina or phil-
osophical friendships that help inspire and sustain our work. Friendship, ge-
niality and collegiality should not be underestimated.
Abbreviations
Alcinous
Did. Didaskalikos
Anonymous
Comm. Commentary on the Parmenides
Anonymous
Proleg. Prolegomena Philosophiae Platonicae
Anonymous
in Tht. in Theaetetum
Apuleius
Apol. Apology
De Plat. De Platone et eius Dogmate
DDS De Deo Socratis
Flor. Florida
Aristotle
DA De Anima
EN Ethica Nicomachea
Gen. An. De Generatione Animalium
Metaph. Metaphysica
Phys. Physica
Pol. Politica
Rhet. Ars Rhetorica
Top. Topica
Augustine
Acad. Contra Academicos
Ciu. Dei De civitate Dei
Conf. Confessiones
De Trin. De trinitate
De uera relig. De uera religion
Epist. Epistulae
Calcidius
in Tim. Timaeus a Calcidio translatus commentarioque instructus