This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores, inter alia, the strategy employed by Augustine in using Plato as a pseudo-prophet against later Platonists and explores Eusebius’ reception of Porphyry’s daemonology. It examines Plotinus’ claim that matter is absolute badness and focuses on Maximus the Confessor’s doctrine of creation and asks whether one may detect any influence on Maximus from Philoponus. The book addresses Christian receptions of Platonic metaphysics (...) and also examines the philosophy of number in Augustine’s early works. It argues that the aspect of Augustine’s philosophy must be read in context with the intellectual problems that occupied him at the beginning of his career as a writer. It draws on a number of sources to investigate the development of the doctrine and the various intellectual issues it confronted, including Plato’s Timaeus, Philo of Alexandria, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Plotinus and, finally, Athanasius. (shrink)

Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity examines the various ways in which Christian intellectuals engaged with Platonism both as a pagan competitor and as a source of philosophical material useful to the Christian faith. The chapters are united in their goal to explore transformations that took place in the reception and interaction process between Platonism and Christianity in this period. -/- The contributions in this volume explore the reception of Platonic material in Christian thought, showing that the transmission of (...) cultural content is always mediated, and ought to be studied as a transformative process by way of selection and interpretation. Some chapters also deal with various aspects of the wider discussion on how Platonic, and Hellenic, philosophy and early Christian thought related to each other, examining the differences and common ground between these traditions. -/- Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity offers an insightful and broad ranging study on the subject, which will be of interest to students of both philosophy and theology in the Late Antique period, as well as anyone working on the reception and history of Platonic thought, and the development of Christian thought. (shrink)

Is there any relation between Plato’s political thinking and his cosmology – physical theory? If there is, how can it be outlined? Does the natural world constitute for Plato a leader thread, so that he can give shape to his ideal Republic (Politeia)? Which are the ratios that are shown? In which way does Plato derive ideas to form his political theory, through nature? Is the platonic state too much of an ideal to be considered utopian not only from philosophy (...) scholars, but also from the majority of people? Or is it, instead, absolutely consistent to the platonic cosmological prototype that the Athenian philosopher creates in Timaeus to explain creation and being? Why does Plato in his mainly cosmological work decide to dedicate a noteworthy part to speak, primarily, about the achievements of the city where he himself and all those who converse with him live? The above questions outline the framework of the present work, which aims to locate and underline the principal –in our opinion- developments in Plato’s political thinking, in Timaeus and the Laws. Timaeus is widely known because it is primarilt a complete – although tough in understanding- expression of Plato’s cosmological and cosmogenic perceptions. Laws, and in particular the 10th book we are concerned in the current study, offers –after Plato’s Republic- a new perspective of his concern about the citizen, the city, and politics. The parallel approach of these two platonic works aims to point out the close relation of Plato’s political thinking with the greater knowledge of the construction and function of the world, and to highlight the holisticity of platonic thought. --- Υπάρχει κάποια σχέση μεταξύ της πολιτικής θεωρίας του Πλάτωνα και της κοσμολογίας του – φυσικής θεωρίας; Αν ναι, πώς αυτή σκιαγραφείται; Συνιστά ο φυσικός κόσμος ένα οδηγητικό νήμα για τον Πλάτωνα, ώστε να διαμορφώσει την ιδανική πολιτεία; Ποιες είναι οι αναλογίες που προκύπτουν; Με ποιο τρόπο ο Πλάτωνας αντλεί μέσω της φύσης ιδέες για την διαμόρφωση της πολιτικής του θεωρίας; Πώς αντιστοιχούν οι ιδέες αυτές στον πολιτικό δέον γενέσθαι; Είναι η πλατωνική πολιτεία τόσο ιδανική ώστε πολλοί μελετητές της φιλοσοφίας αλλά και μεγάλη πλειοψηφία ανθρώπων να τη θεωρούν ουτοπική, ή, αντίθετα, είναι απόλυτα συνεπής προς το κοσμολογικό πρότυπο που διαμορφώνει ο Αθηναίος φιλόσοφος στον Τίμαιο, για να εξηγήσει τη δημιουργία και την ύπαρξη; Γιατί στο κατεξοχήν κοσμολογικό αυτό έργο του, ο Πλάτων επιλέγει να αφιερώσει υπολογίσιμο τμήμα του για να μιλήσει καταρχήν για τα κατορθώματα της πόλης στην οποία ζει ο ίδιος και όσοι συνδιαλέγονται μαζί του; Τα ανωτέρω ερωτήματα προσδιορίζουν το πλαίσιο στο οποίο κινείται η παρούσα εργασία, η οποία έχει σκοπό να εντοπίσει και να επισημάνει τα κυριότερα –κατά τη γνώμη μας- σημεία του Τιμαίου και των Νόμων, στα οποία αναπτύσσεται η πολιτική σκέψη του Πλάτωνα. Ο Τίμαιος είναι έργο ευρύτατα γνωστό κυρίως διότι συνιστά την πλήρη -αν και δυσνόητη- έκφραση των κοσμολογικών και κοσμογονικών αντιλήψεων του Πλάτωνα. Οι Νόμοι, και ιδιαίτερα το 10ο βιβλίο που μας απασχολεί στην παρούσα μελέτη, συνιστούν μια εκ νέου –μετά την Πολιτεία- έκφραση της έγνοιας του Πλάτωνα για τον πολίτη, την πόλη και την πολιτική. Η παράλληλη θεώρηση των δύο αυτών πλατωνικών έργων στοχεύει στο να επισημάνει την στενή σχέση της πλατωνικής πολιτικής σκέψης με την ευρύτερη γνώση της κατασκευής και λειτουργίας του κόσμου, και να αναδείξει την ολιστικότητα της πλατωνικής σκέψης. (shrink)

Paper draft on the concept of participation in the Late Antique thought of Plotinus and Dionysius the Areopagite.

The present chapter aims at offering insights into Dionysius the Areopagite’s notion of theurgy, both with respect to the metaphysical principles that connect with “θεουργία” and the particular sacramental reality that emerges from it. Pavlos argues that despite the linguistic affinities and terminological appropriations - whether Iamblichean or Proclean - Dionysius’ premises on the matter remain radically different from that of Neoplatonism, both in terms of the sacramental tradition he recapitulates and the wider Christian metaphysical contours he adheres to. Of (...) central importance in the argument is the striking fact that, throughout the Corpus Dionysiacum, “theurgy” is a term exclusively used by the author to refer to the works of Christ in His earthly historical presence, and to the whole divine providential, creative, sustaining, and divinising activity and work of God. Consequently, if for Dionysius a “theurgist” (θεουργός) could not be any human being, but only Christ Himself, the God-Man, Dionysian theurgy aims at the deification of man, which is nothing other than Christ-likeness. (shrink)

Εκτενής Βιβλιοκριτική της έκδοσης: Plotinus Ennead VI.4 and VI.5: On the Presence of Being, One and the Same, Everywhere as a Whole («The Enneads of Plotinus with Philosophical Commentaries»). Εισαγωγή, αγγλική μετάφραση, υπόμνημα Eyjolfur Kjalar Emilsson & Steven Keith Strange. Las Vegas/Zurich/Athens: Parmenides Publishing 2015, 305 σ., 36 €.