Table Of ContentDeath and Immortality in Late Neoplatonism
Ancient Mediterranean and
Medieval Texts and Contexts
Editors
Robert M. Berchman
Jacob Neusner
Studies in Platonism, Neoplatonism,
and the Platonic Tradition
Editedby
Robert M. Berchman
DowlingCollegeandBardCollege
John F. Finamore
UniversityofIowa
EditorialBoard
JOHNDILLON(TrinityCollege,Dublin)–GARYGURTLER(BostonCollege)
JEAN-MARCNARBONNE(LavalUniversity,Canada)
VOLUME12
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.nl/spnp.
Death and Immortality
in Late Neoplatonism
Studies on the Ancient Commentaries
on Plato’s Phaedo
By
Sebastian Ramon Philipp Gertz
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2011
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Gertz,SebastianRamonPhilipp.
DeathandimmortalityinlateNeoplatonism:studiesontheancientcommentariesonPlato's
Phaedo/bySebastianRamonPhilippGertz.
p.cm.–(Ancientmediterraneanandmedievaltextsandcontexts)(Studiesin
Platonism,Neoplatonism,andthePlatonictradition;v.12)Includesbibliographicalreferences
andindex.
ISBN978-90-04-20717-2(hardcover:acid-freepaper)
1.Plato.Phaedo.2.Immortality(Philosophy).3.Deathinliterature.4.Neoplatonism.I.Title.
B379.G472011
184–dc22
2011018138
ISSN 1871-188X
ISBN 9789004207172
Copyright2011byKoninklijkeBrillNV,Leiden,TheNetherlands.
KoninklijkeBrillNVincorporatestheimprintsBrill,GlobalOriental,HoteiPublishing,
IDCPublishers,MartinusNijhoffPublishersandVSP.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,translated,storedin
aretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutpriorwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher.
AuthorizationtophotocopyitemsforinternalorpersonaluseisgrantedbyKoninklijkeBrillNV
providedthattheappropriatefeesarepaiddirectlytoTheCopyrightClearanceCenter,
222RosewoodDrive,Suite910,Danvers,MA01923,USA.
Feesaresubjecttochange.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements.................................................... ix
ANoteonCitations.................................................... xi
Introduction ........................................................... 1
. NatureandPurposeofthePresentStudy ....................... 1
. OlympiodorusandDamascius:TwoPhilosophical
Personalities...................................................... 7
.. Olympiodorus............................................... 8
.. Damascius................................................... 11
. InterpretingthePhaedo:TheCentralityoftheΣκ(cid:4)π(cid:6)ς......... 14
.. FindingtheΣκ(cid:4)π(cid:6)ς......................................... 14
.. ApplyingtheΣκ(cid:4)π(cid:6)ς........................................ 19
I.OlympiodorusonSuicide ........................................... 27
. PhilosophyAsΜελ(cid:11)τηΘαν(cid:17)τ(cid:4)υandtheProhibitionof
Suicide............................................................ 27
. TwoKindsofDeathandSeparation............................. 28
. TwoWaysofArguingagainstSuicide ........................... 30
. Olympiodorus’ThreeArguments ............................... 33
. TheEsotericDoctrine............................................ 40
. ThePhilosophicalArgument .................................... 44
. TheCaseforSuicide ............................................. 45
. Olympiodorus’Conclusion...................................... 46
II.PoliticsandPurificationinSocrates’SecondDefence(Phd.b–
e).................................................................. 51
. Introduction...................................................... 51
.. TheCivicVirtuesandtheStatesman ....................... 51
.. OldPuzzles.................................................. 55
. TheCivicContext(s)ofPlato’sPhaedo .......................... 58
. TheDiscoursesonPurification.................................. 61
. TheVirtues....................................................... 66
vi contents
III.SyrianusandDamascius:TwoInterpretationsoftheArgument
fromOppositesinPlato’sPhaedo(Phd.e–d) ................. 71
. Introduction...................................................... 71
. TheBackgroundtoSyrianusandDamascius ................... 75
. Syrianus .......................................................... 80
.. Syrianus’InterpretationoftheArgumentfromOpposites
inOutline.................................................... 80
.. Syrianus’ApproachtoParticularProblemswiththe
Argument.................................................... 83
.. HowMuchDoestheArgumentfromOppositesProve?... 86
. Damascius:Σ(cid:19)(cid:20)(cid:21)εται(cid:23)Λ(cid:6)γ(cid:4)ς? .................................. 89
.. Damascius’CritiqueofSyrianus............................ 90
.. Damascius’OwnVersionoftheArgument ................ 91
. Conclusion ....................................................... 94
IV.Memory,ForgetfulnessandRecollectionintheCommentaries
onPlato’sPhaedo.................................................... 97
. Introduction...................................................... 97
. WhatDoestheArgumentProve? ............................... 102
. WhatIsRecollection,andHowDoesItWork? ................. 109
. WhatFormsAreRecollected,andWhyDoWeNeedForms
atAll?............................................................. 111
. TwoPuzzlesaboutMemoryandRecollection .................. 116
V.TheAffinityArgumentinPlato’sPhaedo........................... 123
. Introduction...................................................... 123
. Alcinous,PlotinusandPorphyry................................ 125
. Iamblichus........................................................ 129
. Proclus’AnalysisoftheArgument .............................. 132
. Damascius’CritiqueofProclus.................................. 135
. ThreeObjectionstotheArgument.............................. 136
. TwoPlatonicProblems .......................................... 139
VI.TheFinalArgumentinPlato’sPhaedo ............................ 143
. The‘SecondVoyage’.............................................. 143
. TheFinalArgument.............................................. 148
. Strato’sCriticismsandTheirImpact............................. 152
. RefutingStrato ................................................... 155
. Damascius’NewAnalysis........................................ 158
. ConcludingEvaluation .......................................... 166
contents vii
. AFinalNoteontheArgumentforImmortalityinProclus’
ElementsofTheology ............................................. 168
VII.AfterDeath:ThePhaedoMythandItsNeoplatonicInterpreters173
. Preliminaries ..................................................... 173
. TheAfterlifeJourney:Phd.c–c .......................... 175
. WhichEarthIsthe‘TrueEarth’? ................................ 178
. TheUndergroundRiversinDamasciusandOlympiodorus.... 184
. Epilogue .......................................................... 187
GeneralConclusions................................................... 189
Bibliography ........................................................... 195
IndexRerum........................................................... 205
IndexNominumVeterumetRecentiorum ........................... 209
IndexLocorumPotiorum ............................................. 213
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ThisbookisarevisedversionofmydoctoralthesissubmittedattheUni-
versityofCambridgein,writtenunderthesupervisionofMalcolm
Schofield.Itistohimthatmywarmestthanksaredue.Hehasbeenunfail-
ingly patient, helpful and generous with his time. I should also like to
acknowledgemydebttoDavidSedley,who,asmysecondsupervisor,has
rescuedmefromcountlesserrorsandsharedhisinterestin thePhaedo
withme. Iowethanksto John Dillon, whoco-examinedmythesisand
kindly suggestedthatIsubmitittothisseries.Twoanonymousreaders
have made astutecommentson my manuscript,andI am very grateful
tothem.Ialsowanttothanktheeditorsoftheseries,JohnFinamoreand
RobertBerchman,foracceptingtheworkforpublication.
DuringaresearchvisittoK.U.Leuvenin,Ihadtheopportunity
toclearupanumberofquestionsinmymind,andIwishtothankCarlos
Steel and Gerd van Riel for their hospitality and willingness to discuss
Neoplatonismandmuchelsewithme.
My gratitude goes to the Arts and Humanities Research Council for
their financial support, without which I could not have undertaken
graduate work. The Faculty ofClassicsat Cambridge has been a steady
sourceofsupportovertheyears, andit is with greatpleasurethatI am
abletothankthemhere.
Finally—but not, of course, least—I wish to record my gratitude to
ShohtaUeno,J.AlexandraParkandthewholeCaiusgang,whohaveall
donemuchtomakethetimespentwritingandrevisingthisbookmore
enjoyablethanitmightotherwisehavebeen.
