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This is the first collected volume dedicated to Olympiodorus of Alexandria, the last pagan Platonic philosopher at the end of antiquity.
Olympiodorus' life and society -- Philosophical excellence and the philosophical curriculum -- Pre-philosophical excellence: (1) natural and (2) habituated -- Philosophical excellence: (3) civic, (4) purificatory, (5) contemplative -- Excellence beyond philosophy: (6) inspired [and (7) hieratic] -- Summary -- The Platonic curriculum and the Alcibiades: from natural gifts to civic responsibility -- Olympiodorus' lectures on the Alcibiades -- Appendix: Olympiodorus' works -- Uncertain attributions -- Textual emendations -- Translation -- Bibliography -- English-Greek glossary -- Greek-English index -- Index of passages cited -- Index of names and places -- Subject index.
Olympiodorus (AD c. 500–570), possibly the last non-Christian teacher of philosophy in Alexandria, delivered these lectures as an introduction to Plato with a biography. For us, they can serve as an accessible introduction to late Neoplatonism. Olympiodorus locates the First Alcibiades at the start of the curriculum on Plato, because it is about self-knowledge. His pupils are beginners, able to approach the hierarchy of philosophical virtues, like the aristocratic playboy Alcibiades. Alcibiades needs to know himself, at least as an individual with particular actions, before he can reach the virtues of mere civic interaction. As Olympiodorus addresses mainly Christian students, he tells them that the different words they use are often symbols of truths shared between their faiths.
Olympiodorus' life and society -- Philosophical excellence and the philosophical curriculum -- Pre-philosophical excellence: (1) natural and (2) habituated -- Philosophical excellence: (3) civic, (4) purificatory, (5) contemplative -- Excellence beyond philosophy: (6) inspired [and (7) hieratic] -- Summary -- The Platonic curriculum and the Alcibiades: from natural gifts to civic responsibility -- Olympiodorus' lectures on the Alcibiades -- Appendix: Olympiodorus' works -- Uncertain attributions -- Textual emendations -- Translation -- Bibliography -- English-Greek glossary -- Greek-English index -- Index of passages cited -- Index of names and places -- Subject index
Preliminary Material -- INTRODUCTION -- LIFE OF PLATO -- THOUGHT OF PLATO -- WORKS OF PLATO -- EUTHYPHRO -- APOLOGY -- CRITO -- PHAEDO -- CONCLUSION -- WORKS CITED -- BIBLIOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO FURTHER STUDY -- ABOUT THE AUTHOR -- INDEX OF NAMES -- INDEX OF SUBJECTS -- VIBS.
Universally regarded as Plato’s student in antiquity, it is the eloquent and patriotic orator Demosthenes—not the pro-Macedonian Aristotle who tutored Alexander the Great—who returned to the dangerous Cave of political life, and thus makes it possible to recover the Old Academy. In Plato and Demosthenes: Recovering the Old Academy, William H. F. Altman explores how Demosthenes—along with Phocion, Lycurgus, and Hyperides—add external and historical evidence for the hypothesis that Plato’s brilliant and challenging dialogues constituted the Academy’s original curriculum. Altman rejects the facile view that the eloquent Plato, a master speech-writer as well as the proponent of the transcendent and post-eudaemonist Idea of the Good, was rhetoric’s enemy. He shows how Demosthenes acquired the discipline necessary to become a great orator, first by shouting at the sea and then by summoning the Athenians to self-sacrifice in defense of their waning freedom. Demosthenes thus proved Socrates’ criticism of democracy and the democratic man wrong, just as Plato the Teacher had intended that his best students would, and as he continues to challenge us to do today.
This is a new critical edition, with translation and commentary, of the Scholia in Apocalypsin, which were falsely attributed to Origen a century ago. They include extensive sections from Didymus the Blind's lost Commentary on the Apocalypse (fourth century) and therefore counter the current belief that Oecumenius' commentary (sixth century) was the most ancient. Professor Tzamalikos argues that their author was in fact Cassian the Sabaite, an erudite monk and abbot at the monastery of Sabas, the Great Laura, in Palestine. He was different from the alleged Latin author John Cassian, placed a century or so before the real Cassian. The Scholia attest to the tension between the imperial Christian orthodoxy of the sixth century and certain monastic circles, who drew freely on Hellenic ideas and on alleged 'heretics'. They show that, during that period, Hellenism was a vigorous force inspiring not only pagan intellectuals, but also influential Christian quarters.
Venerated as god and goddess, feared as demon and pestilence, trusted as battle omen, and used as a proving ground for optical theories, the rainbow's image is woven into the fabric of our past and present. From antiquity to the nineteenth century, the rainbow has played a vital role in both inspiring and testing new ideas about the physical world. Although scientists today understand the rainbow's underlying optics fairly well, its subtle variability in nature has yet to be fully explained. Throughout history the rainbow has been seen primarily as a symbol&—of peace, covenant, or divine sanction&—rather than as a natural phenomenon. Lee and Fraser discuss the role the rainbow has played...
This interdisciplinary handbook provides extensive information about research in medieval studies and its most important results over the last decades. The handbook is a reference work which enables the readers to quickly and purposely gain insight into the important research discussions and to inform themselves about the current status of research in the field. The handbook consists of four parts. The first, large section offers articles on all of the main disciplines and discussions of the field. The second section presents articles on the key concepts of modern medieval studies and the debates therein. The third section is a lexicon of the most important text genres of the Middle Ages. The fourth section provides an international bio-bibliographical lexicon of the most prominent medievalists in all disciplines. A comprehensive bibliography rounds off the compendium. The result is a reference work which exhaustively documents the current status of research in medieval studies and brings the disciplines and experts of the field together.