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Basil the Great

Biographical summary

Basil the Great was born in the Cappadocian city of Caesarea around the year 330. He came from a family that included several saints, including the philosopher Gregory of Nyssa. He was bishop of the Roman city of Caesarea and one of the fathers of Christian philosophy.

After a childhood in which he lived between Pontus and Cappadocia, Basil moved to Constantinople and then to Athens, where he maintained ties with renowned intellectuals and politicians such as Gregory of Nazianzus and Julian the Apostate. He sought out and contacted hermit saints in Syria and Arabia in order to learn how to achieve a constant state of piety, as well as to subdue the body through asceticism. As a result of this learning process, he founded a series of monasteries throughout Cappadocia: first on the banks of the Iris, and then in other parts of the region. This ecclesiastical network gave him a considerable degree of authority, which would later be put at the service of the theoretical combat against Arianism.

In the year 370, after the death of Eusebius of Caesarea, bishop of that city, in Cappadocia, Basil was chosen to replace him. Here he played a prominent role in the open polemics within the church: he defended Christian orthodoxy against Emperor Valens's attempts to introduce Arianism in the diocese. Likewise, he participated in the Council of Constantinople a short time later, taking sides with the Homoousian side and opposing, along with Athanasius of Alexandria, the Arianism present at the council. His polemical character and his active role in the institutional life of the church is expressed in his voluminous epistolary production, which consists of about three hundred letters.

Contra Eunomius is one of the main controversial works of Basil. It is directed - just as his brother Gregory did years later - against the main leader of Arianism at that time. Here the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son is defended, accounting for a scholarly knowledge, on the part of Basilius, about the work of Origen. De Spiritu Sancto is another work that argues against Arianism, as well as having great importance within Basil's written production.

The homilies form the bulk of the written production of the Cappadocian Father. The Homily on the Hexameron stands out within it, where an explanation of the creational process is made as it appears in Genesis.

This homily inspired his younger brother, Gregory of Nyssa, to write his famous De Opificio Hominis years later. In both works, the question of the creation of man and the restoration of his creational glory through the purification of the soul following an ascetic path occupies a central role. This last topic is repeated several times throughout all of Basil's written production, both in terms of a defense of asceticism as a means of spiritual progression, and in advice that he left to the monastic communities that he founded throughout the years. of their life.

The controversies in which he played a prominent role throughout his life continued beyond Basil's death. He died in 379, due to liver disease. His work, of fundamental reading within the world of Cappadocian Patristics, was taken as an inheritance by his younger brother, Gregory de Nyssa, who will be in charge of the arduous task of continuing and completing it.

Source:
Hildebrand S. M., Basil of Caesarea, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2014

Secondary bibliography

Meredith A., The Cappadocians, St. Vladimir's Seminar Press, Crestwood, 1995
Murphy M.G., St. Basil and Monasticism: Catholic University of America Series on Patristic Studies, vol. XXV, AMS Press, New York 1930
Rousseau P., Basil of Caesarea, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1994
Hildebrand S. M., The Trinitarian Theology of Basil of Caesarea, Catholic University of America Press, Washington, D.C., 2007

Chronology of works

363 - Adversus Eunomium, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXIX, Migne J. P., Paris, 1863
c. 363/378 - Homilia in illud: Attende tibi ipsi, in “L'homélie de Basile de Césarée sur le mot ‘observe–toi toi–même’”, Rudberg S. Y., ed., Almqvist & Wiksell, Estocolmo, 1962.
c. 363/378 - Homilia in divites, in “Saint Basile. Homélies sur la richesse”, Courtonne Y., ed., Didot, Paris, 1935.
c. 363/378 - Homilia in aquas, in “Ps.–Basilii εἰς τὰ ὕδατα καὶ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον βάπτισμα”, Costanza S., ed., Peloritana Editrice, Messina, 1967.
c. 363/378 - Homilia de virginitate, in “”Une curieuse homélie grecque inédite sur la virginité adressée aux pères de famille””, Amand D., Moons M.C., ed., 1953
c. 370/378 - De spiritu, “Études plotiniennes I. Les états du texte de Plotin”, Henry P., ed., Brouwer, Paris, 1938.
c. 363/378 - Homilia super Psalmos, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXIX, Migne J. P., Paris, 1863
c. 363/378 - Homilia de gratiarum actione, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in martyrem Julittam, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia dicta tempore famis et siccitatis, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia adversus eos qui irascuntur, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia de invidia, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in principium proverbiorum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia exhortatoria ad sanctum baptisma, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - In ebriosos, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in Psalmum 37, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in Psalmum 115, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in Psalmum 132, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in Spiritu Sancto, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia dicta in Lacisis, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - In sanctam Christi generationem, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia de paenitentia, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in divites, in “Saint Basile. Homélies sur la richesse”, Courtonne Y., ed., Didot, Paris, 1935.
c. 363/378 - Homilia de gratiarum actione, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia de humilitate, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia de invidia, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia adversus eos qui irascuntur, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia dicta in Lacizis, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia quod rebus mundanis adhaerendum non sil, et de incendio extra Ecclesiam facto, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in principium Proverbiorum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia de misericordia et judicio, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in psalmum I, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 365 - De perfectione, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 365 - Liturgia Basilii byzantina, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c . 365/372 - De fide, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 369 - Homilia in illud: Destruam horrea mea, in “Saint Basile. Homélies sur la richesse”, Courtonne Y., ed., Didot, Paris, 1935.
c. 369 - Homilia dicta tempore famis et siccitatis, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - De ieiunio, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Quod Deus non est auctor malorum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - De legendis gentilium libris, in “Saint Basile. Aux jeunes gens sur la manière de tirer profit des lettres Helléniques”, Boulenger F., ed., Les Belles Lettres, Paris, 1935
c. 370/378 - In illud: In principio erat verbum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - In Barlaam martyrem, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Expositio fidei Nicaenae, in “Bibliothek der Symbole und Glaubensregeln der alten Kirche”, Hahn G. L., Morgenstern, Breslau, 1897.
c. 370/378 - In Gordium martyrem, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - In quadraginta martyres Sebastenses, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - De humilitate, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Quod rebus mundanis adhaerendum non sit, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - In Mamantem martyrem, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Contra Sabellianos et Arium et Anomoeos, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - De iudicio Dei, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Prooemium in regulas brevius tractatas, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Asceticon magnum sive Quaestiones, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Prooemium in regulas brevius tractatas, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Regulae morales, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - De baptismo, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - In Psalmum 28, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Adversus eos qui per calumniam dicunt dici a nobis tres deos, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Orationes sive Exorcismi, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Poenae in monachos delinquentes, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Epitimia in canonicas, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Consolatoria ad aegrotum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 363/378 - Homilia in illud: Ne dederis somnum oculis tuis, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Sermo ob sacerdotum instructionem, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Sermo de contubernalibus, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Oratio pro inimicis et amicis, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Constitutiones asceticae, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Sermones de moribus a Symeone Metaphrasta collecti, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1841
c. 370/378 - Ad virginem iapsam, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - Asceticon, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
c. 370/378 - De baptismo, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846
375 - De spiritu sancto, in “Basile de Césarée. Sur le Saint–Esprit”, Pruche B., ed., Cerf, Paris, 1968
c. 377 - Homiliae in Hexameron, in “Basile de Césarée. Homélies sur l'hexaméron”, Giet S., ed., Cerf, Paris, 1968
Unknown date - Ad adolescentes, quomodo possint ex gen tilium libris fructum capere, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XXXI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1846

Clement of Alexandria

Biographical summary

Clement of Alexandria was presumably born around the year 150 AD, in the Roman city of Athens. Coming from a wealthy family of aristocratic and pagan descent, he receives in his hometown a rich training in philosophy, poetry and rhetoric, which prompts him to travel throughout much of the eastern Mediterranean in search of Christian teachers. He finally arrives in Alexandria, where he settles and pursues his career as a philosopher and teacher of religion.

In Alexandria he comes into contact with Pantenus, who administered a catechetical school and whom he would succeed in directing it after he died. Here he received a reputation as a catechist -probably the most famous the Egyptian city ever had in ancient times. Due to the imperial persecution carried out by Septimius Severus during the years 202 and 203 Clemente had to leave Alexandria, taking refuge in Cappadocia, where he lived his last years. He died shortly before 215.

Protrepticus, Pedagogue, and Stromata are Clement's three main works. They constitute an unintended trilogy, from the reader's conversion to Christianity to his spiritual progress toward virtue.

Protrepticus is an exhortation to conversion to Christianity. Here it is possible to recognize the wide influence and knowledge witnessed by Clement regarding the classical sources, especially Plato, who was on the right path to know God. Even so, the fullness of knowledge and the possibility of salvation was given to men thanks to the Logos, Jesus Christ. Typical of a time when Christianity was just beginning to grow as a religion within the margins of the Roman Empire, the call to abandon the ancient pagan gods is reiterated in the work, and to orient the spirit to the true Logos, the ultimate foundation of the existence and principle of reality.

Pedagogue, meanwhile, plays an educational role in the search for a virtuous life within the framework of Christianity. Here the influence of Stoicism on Clement is highlighted, through the statement that true virtue is expressed in a moderate and simple way of life.

The content of Stromata is, as the name implies, miscellaneous. It presents a less systematic content than the two previous works, although the depth of the philosophical and theoretical elaboration is greater. The incorporation of elements of classical philosophy -fundamentally, Platonism and Stoicism- are expressed with an ascending clarity from Pedagogue, reaching a greater density in Stromata than in the two previous works. The plurality of topics addressed is such that it can be found, through the books that make up the work, a critique of the propaedeutic role of Greek philosophy, reflections on the origin of language, an approximation on the age of the world and a characterization on the nature of Christ and the Logos, from which it is described to what virtue the Christian should aspire.

Clement of Alexandria influenced the way in which the Christian intelligentsia and philosophy developed in Alexandria, mainly, and in the Mediterranean world in general. Not only is he one of the oldest Church Fathers whose work is preserved, but he has influenced thinkers such as Origen, whom it is believed he came to know and educate, around crucial issues such as the characterization of the Trinity and the concepts of image and likeness.

Source:
Osborn E., Clement of Alexandria, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005

Secondary bibliography

Hägg H. F., Clement of Alexandria and the Beginnings of Christian Apophaticism, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006
Faye E. de, Clément d’Alexandrie, Frankfurt, 1967
Ferguson J., Clement of Alexandria, New York, 1974
Floyd W. E. G., Clement of Alexandria’s Treatment of the Problem of Evil, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1971
Hoek A. van den., Clement of Alexandria and His Use of Philo in the Stromateis, in “Vigilia Christiana”, suppl. 3, Brill, Leiden, 1988
Lazzati G., Introduzione allo studio di Clemente Alessandrino, Milan, 1939
Valentin F., Clément d’Alexandrie, Paris, 1963

Chronology of works

c. 195, Protrepticus, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, 4 vols., Dindorf W., ed., e typographeo Clarendoniano, Oxonni, 1869

c. 195, Hypotyphoses, in “Clemens Alexandrinus”, vol. III, Stählin O., Früchtel L. & Treu U., eds., Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1970

c. 198, Paedagogus, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols., e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715

c. 198-203, Stromata, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols., e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715

c. 203, Quis dives salvetur, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols., e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715

Fragments without known date
Excerpta ex Theodoto, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols, e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715

Eclogae Propheticae, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols, e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715

Cohortatio ad gentes, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols, e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715

About Fasting, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols, e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715

About the Slander, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols, e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715

Exhortation to Patience, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols, e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715

Ecclesiastical Canon, in “Clementis Alexandrini Opera”, Potter J., ed., 2 vols, e theatro Sheldoniano, Oxford, 1715
 

Philo of Alexandria

Biographical summary

Philo of Alexandria was born around 20 BC. in Alexandria. He was one of the most prominent figures in the large Jewish community that inhabited the Roman city at the time. His work expresses the search for union between Jewish religiosity and Hellenistic philosophy, which found its greatest exponent in Alexandria.

Philo's intellectual formation united the Hellenistic, Jewish and Imperial Roman cultures, which allows us to account for the social position that his family enjoyed in Alexandria. His life took place in a context of rising ethnic tension within the Empire: the administrative changes that led to the conversion of Egypt into a Roman province, added to the brutal imperial repression of the Jewish revolts in Judea, caused, as a consequence, a climate of ethnic tension in a city with a strong cosmopolitan character. Philo himself played a role in these tensions, on the occasion of his visit to the Temple of Herodotus in Jerusalem, where he fervently opposed the erection of a statue in honor of Caligula through an implicit defense of the Jewish right to rebel against the imperial yoke

Of Philo's written opus some of his works survive in Greek, while several others have come down to the present through Armenian translations and a small number survived through Latin ones. Due to the difficulties presented in the preservation of Philo's work, the exact date of writing of the texts is unknown. Still, reconstructions of a chronology have been tried on the basis of thematic similarities and its coincidence with some known facts about the Alexandrian philosopher.

One of the highlights of Philo's originality is his use of the exegesis of sacred texts. He recognized two levels of articulation of these: a reading in the literal sense and another allegorical, which was required to the extent that the literal sense was insufficient or the reading was blocked by ambiguities or problems of a theological nature. This method is heir to the Greek exegesis of Homeric poetry, and was crucial in defining the way in which posterity -both Jewish and Christian- relates to the reading of sacred texts.

De Opificio Mundi is the most complex work in philosophical terms and the most outstanding of the Jewish philosopher. Here Philo's concern is expressed to establish a reading of the Jewish faith from the tools provided by Hellenistic philosophy. Within the framework of a study of the Pentateuch, a particular reading of the six days of creation is exposed, marked by the thought of Plato, as it is exposed in Timaeus. Here, the man created on the sixth day has no body: he is only a soul, an emanation of the logos. The presence of Stoic elements in Philonian exegesis is expressed in a derogatory characterization of corporality, which is seen as an occasion for sin and, therefore, for evil.

The Aristotelian reception of Philo is expressed in a treatise often referred to as "philosophical", because of its content: Quod Deus Immutabilis Sit, where the Alexandrian philosopher takes his theory of causality from the stagirite, accounting for a wide degree of eclecticism regarding the philosophical traditions that precedes him.

Philo died in the year 49 of our era, transcending to posterity as a fundamental author to understand the theoretical framework on which Mediterranean Christian and Jewish philosophy develop in posterior years. His characterization of the biblical concept of image -central to Christian philosophical exegesis and anthropology- will later be addressed by authors such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Gregory of Nyssa.

Source:
Niehoff M. R., Philo. An intellectual biography, Yale University Press, London, 2018
 

Secondary bibliography

Calabi F. & Berchman R., eds., God’s Acting, Man’s Acting. Studies in Philo of Alexandria, vols. I-IV, Brill, Leiden, 2008
Niehoff M. R., Philo. An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, London, 2018
Roskam G., On the Path to Virtue. The Stoic Doctrine of Moral Progress and Its Reception in (Middle-)Platonism, Leuven, 2005
Tobin T., The Creation of Man: Philo and the History of Interpretation, Washington, 1983
Völker W., Fortschritt und Vollendung bei Philon von Alexandrien. Eine Studie zur Geschichte der Frömmigkeit, Leipzig, 1938
Wolfson H. A., Philo. Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1947

Chronology of works

circa 35 AD
Legum allegoriarae, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. I, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1896
De cherubim, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. I, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1896
De sacrificiis Abelis et Caini, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. I, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1896
Quod deterius potioti insidiari soleat, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. I, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1896
De posteritate Caini, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. I, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1896
De gigantibus, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. II, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1897
Quod Deus sit immutabilis, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. II, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1897
De agricultura, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. II, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1897
De plantatione, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. II, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1897
De ebrietate, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. II, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1897
De sobrietate, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. II, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1897
De confusione linguarum, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. II, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1897
De migratione Abrahami, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. II, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1897
Quis rerum divinarum heres sit, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., vol. III, George Reimer, Berlin, 1898
De congressu eruditionis gratia, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., vol. III, George Reimer, Berlin, 1898
De fuga et inventione, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., vol. III, George Reimer, Berlin, 1898
De mutatione nominum, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., vol. III, George Reimer, Berlin, 1898
De somniis, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., vol. III, George Reimer, Berlin, 1898
Quaestiones et solutiones in Genesim, in “Les oeuvres de Philon d'Alexandrie”, vol. XXXIII, Petit F., ed., Paris, 1978
Quaestiones et solutiones in Exodum, in “Les oeuvres de Philon d'Alexandrie”, vol. XXXIII, Petit F., ed., Paris, 1978

circa 40-49 AD
In Flaccum, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. VI, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1915
Legatio ad Gaium, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. VI, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1915
Hypothetica, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. VI, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1915
Quod omnis probus liber sit, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. VI, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1915
De providentia, in “Philo”, vol. IX, Colson F. H., ed., Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1967
De vita contemplativa, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. VI, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1915
De aeternitate mundi, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. VI, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1915
De opificio mundi, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. I, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1896
De Abrahamo, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. IV, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1902
De Iosepho, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. IV, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1902
De vita Moysis, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. IV, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1902
De Decalogo, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. IV, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1902
De specialibus legibus, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. V, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1906
De praemiis et poenis, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. V, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1906

Without known date
De virtutibus, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. V, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1906
De fortitudine, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. V, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1906
De humanitate, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. V, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1906
De paenitentia, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. V, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1906
De nobilitate, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. V, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1906
De praemiis et poenis, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. V, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1906
De exsecrationibus, in “Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt”, vol. V, Cohn L. & Wendland P., eds., George Reimer, Berlin, 1906

Origen

Biographical summary

Origen was born around the year 185. His childhood went by in the roman city of Alexandria, one of the first and foremost intellectual centres of late antiquity. He learned Greek language and Christian scriptures at an early age, thanks to his father’s teachings, who died as a martyr years later under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus, clearly influencing young Origen’s Christian vocation. Biographical knowledge about his person lives up to our times, partially, thanks to the Greek historian Eusebius.

After developing as a prominent grammateus during the first years of his adult life, tensions arose by the upsurge of imperial persecution against Christianism in Alexandria forced Origen to stand out as a teacher of the Christian faith, turning himself to an ascetic way of life. After a series of travels across some of the most renowned cities of the Roman Mediterranean Sea, and a fierce repression unleashed by Emperor Caracalla in Alexandria, Origen visits the cities of Rome and Caesarea, where he nourishes with a vast theoric exchange with the intellectual elite, including the notorious Neoplatonist Porphyry. He lived many years in Caesarea and established a school.

Origen came up, along his life, with a vast written production, partially by the grace of the patronage received by his close friend, Ambrosius of Alexandria. According to ancient sources, the number of works written by his hand ascends to six thousand, although contemporary scholars recognize in this number some grade of exaggeration. The most important work of his corpus is known by its Greek name as Peri Archon or, by his Latin title, as De Primis Principiis, and is considered as one of the writings that sets up the foundations for Christian philosophy, and the first work of systematic theology ever written. Of the four tomes written between 220 and 230, only a few passages survive in Greek language.

Following a hierarchical order, Origen explores the Christian doctrine of the Trinity -the principle, making allusion to the name of the work, of reality-, then descends in ontological terms to a characterisation of rational beings and, lastly, of the material world. The view of God as incorporeal, unique and simple distinguishes Origen from one of his primary interlocutors in this writing, Gnosticism, at the same time that indicates the Neoplatonic spirit that underlies the whole work.

Somewhere between 238 and 244 Origen travels to the Greek city of Athens, where he meets Plotinus and begins to write his Commentary on the Song of Songs. Using a dramatic-themed song, he introduces the concept of apokatastasis, the culmination of a process of philosophical knowledge in an intimate and deep communion with God. The goal of this work is to achieve spiritual readiness: its lecture and study takes part in a process of spiritual purification, which is necessary to gain said communion.

Contra Celsum is an apologetic work, where the Alexandrian philosopher polemicized with paganism, materialized in the person of the philosopher Celsum. This text is written, possibly, between the years 248 and 249, driven by the lecture of the works of the pagan philosopher, in which he expresses a defence of the imperial persecution of Christianism.

Since 249, with the assumption of Decius as Roman Emperor, the persecution of Christians intensified. At this time, Origen is incarcerated and tortured for the lapse of two years, until 251, when he is freed. He dies shortly after, presumably due to the sequels that lasted in his health, in the city of Tyre. He transcended his time as one of the fundamental theorists of early Christian philosophy.

Bibliography
Trigg J. W., Origen, Routledge, Londres, 1998
Trigg J. W., Origen: The Bible and Philosophy in the Third-Century Church, Georgia: John Knox Press, Atlanta, 1983

Secondary bibliography

Trigg J. W., Origen, Routledge, Londres, 1998
Crouzel H., Origen, T&T Clark, Edimburgo, 1986
Tzamalikos P., Origen: Cosmology and Ontology of Time, Leiden, Brill, 2006
Tzamalikos P., Origen: Philosophy of History and Eschatology, Leiden, Brill, 2007
Schibli H. S., “Origen, Didymus and the Vehicle of the Soul”, in Origeniana Quinta, Daly R.J. ed., Uitgeverij Peeters and Leuven University Press, Leuven, 1992
Ramelli I., “Origen, Patristic Philosophy and Christian Platonism: rethinking the Christanization of Hellenism”, in Vigiliae Christianae, 2009
King C., Origen on the Song of Songs as the Soul of Scripture, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2005
Harl M., “La pre-existence des âmes dans l’oeuvre d’Origène”, in Origeniana Quarta, Lies L. ed., Tyrolia-Verlag, Innsbruck, 1987

Chronology of works

c. 229, De principiis, Koetschau P., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1913
c. 235, Exhortatio ad martyrium, 2 vols., Koetschau P., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1899
c. 232 - 235, De oratione, 2 vols., Koetschau P., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1899
c. 238, Commentarii in Genesim, Metzler K., ed., De Gruyter, Berlin, 2010
c. 238, Dialogus cum Heraclide, Scherer J., ed., Cerf, Paris, 1960
c. 238, Commentarii in evangelium Joannis, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. IV, Preuschen E., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1903
c. 238 - 244, Homiliae in Lucam, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. IX, Rauer M., ed., Akademie–Verlag, Berlin, 1959
c. 238 - 244, Homiliae in Genesim, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. VI, Baehrens W. A., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1920
c. 238 - 244, Homiliae in Exodum, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. VI, Baehrens W. A., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1920
c. 238 - 244, Homiliae in Josuam, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. VII, Baehrens W. A., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1921
c. 238 - 244, Homiliae in Leviticum, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. VI, Baehrens W. A., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1920
c. 238 - 244, Homiliae in Ezechielem, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. VIII, Baehrens W. A., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1925
c. 238 - 244, Homiliae in Jeremiam, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XIII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
c. 238 - 244, Homiliae in Job, in “Analecta sacra spicilegio Solesmensi parata”, vol. II, Pitra J.B., ed., Tusculum, París, 1884
c. 238 - 244, Homiliis in Acta apostolorum
c. 240, In Canticum Canticorum, Baehrens W., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1925
c. 248 - 249, Contra Celsum, in “Oriègene. Contre Celse”, 4 vols., Borret M., ed., París, 1967

Without known date
In Jesu Nave homiliae, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. VII, Baehrens W. A., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1921
Commentarii in evangelium Joannis, Preuschen E., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1903
In Jeremiam, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. III, Klostermann E., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1901
In Lamentationes, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. III, Klostermann E., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1901
De engastrimytho, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. III, Klostermann E., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1901
Commentarium in evangelium Matthaei, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. XI, Klostermann E., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1933
Commentariis in epistulam I ad Corinthios, in “Journal of Theological Studies”, vols. 9 & 10, Jenkins C., ed., 1908
Commentariis in epistulam ad Ephesios, in “Journal of Theological Studies”, vol. 3, Gregg J.A.F., ed., 1902
Commentarii in epistulam ad Romanos, in “Journal of Theological Studies”, vols. 13 & 14, Ramsbotham, A., ed., 1912
Commentarii in Romanos, 3 vols., Hammond Bammel C., ed., Herder, Freiburg, 1996
Epistula ad ignotum, “Lettres et écrivains chrétiens des IIe et IIIe siècles”, Nautin P.,, ed., Cerf, Paris, 1961
Scholia in Apocalypsem, in “Der Scholien–Kommentar des Origenes zur Apokalypse Johannis”, Diobouniotis C. & von Harnack A. eds., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1911
Fragmenta in Psalmos, in “Analecta sacra spicilegio Solesmensi parata, vols. II & III”, Pitra J.B., ed., 1966
Epistula ad Africanum, in “Origenis Opera Omnia”, vol. I, Migne J. P.,, ed., París 1857
Fragmenta in Jeremiam, in “Origenes Werke”, vol. III, Klostermann E., ed., Hinrichs, Leipzig, 1901
Philocalia, 2 vols., Junod E. & Harl M. eds., Cerf, Paris, 1976 and 1983
Epistula ad Gregorium Thaumaturgum, in “Des Gregorios Thaumaturgos Dankrede an Origenes”, Koetschau P.,, ed., Mohr, Freiburg, 1894
Fragmenta in Proverbia Salomonis, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XIII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Fragmenta in Proverbia Salomonis, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XIII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Fragmenta in Canticum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XIII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Selecta in Threnos, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XIII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Hexapla, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVI, Migne J. P., Paris, 1863
Selecta in Exodum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Selecta in Leviticum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Selecta in Deuteronomium, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Selecta in Jesu Nave, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Selecta in Judices, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
In Ruth, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Selecta in Psalmos, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
In epistulam ad Hebraeos homiliae, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XIV, Migne J. P., Paris, 1862
Adnotationes in Genesim, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Adnotationes in Exodum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Adnotationes in Leviticum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Adnotationes in Numeros, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Adnotationes in Deuteronomium, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Adnotationes in Jesu filium Nave, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Adnotationes in Judices, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Expositio in Proverbia, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Scholia in Canticum canticorum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Scholia in Matthaeum, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857
Scholia in Lucam, in “Patrologia Graeca”, vol. XVII, Migne J. P., Paris, 1857

Dionysius Areopagite

The author known as Dionysius Areopagite is, without any doubt, one of the most mysterious -and, therefore, controversial- personalities of neoplatonist philosophy. He is responsible for the creation of a corpus whose direct influence can be traced even in the Renaissance and afterwards: the Corpus Areopagiticum.

According to the encomium written by Michael Syncellus, Dyonisius was an Athenian pagan who converted into Christianity thanks to the teachings of St. Paul in the Athenian areopagus. He was later appointed as the first Bishop of Athens. He later left the city and headed towards Rome, gaining acquaintance with the Imperial capital’s Bishop, Clemens. In a later voyage to Paris he ascended to sainthood by performing a miracle. Although the Corpus Areopagiticum was claimed to be a group of works written by this person, suspicion about the authenticity of this claim arose as soon as the IX century dc., shortly after its discovery.

The nodal point that begins the philosophy of Dionysius is the teaching that God must be understood as "beyond being": He is the foundation of all beings, although He himself is not. Because of that He is unknowable and ineffable. The basis for this doctrine comes from the Neoplatonic theory of the One or the Good, the first principle of reality, which is beyond being and knowledge: a direct consequence of the doctrine that states that being implies to be intelligible.

The central treatise of the Corpus Dyonisiacum is De Divinis Nominibus, which discusses the nature of God as transcendent and creator of the world at the same time. Aspects of the Divine nature are presented in terms of the multiple names of God, which are derived from scriptural and Platonic sources. The successive chapters of the work introduce these names, starting from conceiving God as transcendent in chapter I, until describing him as perfect and the One in chapter XIII, which places him as the unifying cause of multiplicity. The procession that presents the succession of the chapters is analogous to the scheme of return of the multiplicity towards God.

This writing also plays a central role in the controversy surrounding the real authorship of Dionysius on the Corpus: in book IV there is a passage that is completely dependent on what was written by Proclus in a passage of De Malorum Subsistentia, which proves that the first was written after the second.

Theologia Mystica is the shortest work in the Corpus, with only five chapters, in which God is presented as ineffable, transcendent and attainable only through the absolute abandonment of matter. Here, he introduces negative theology as the only way to achieve the soul's return to God. The Neoplatonic doctrine that postulates the One as the cause of everything, although it is transcendent regarding Creation, is conceived here from a Christian perspective and complexified through the incorporation of Scriptural elements.

De Coelesti Hierarchia and De Ecclesiastica Hierarchia address, respectively, the Angelic and Ecclesiastical spheres, of which the second imitates the first. Both are divided into a set of triadic hierarchies.

The Corpus is completed with a set of ten letters. There is a body of works and texts cited and referred to in the works, of which there is no surviving manuscript. It is possible that either these texts have been lost, or that their own mention is part of the pantomime played through the alter ego of Dionysus. Either way, there are no surviving remnants of those manuscripts beyond their names. These are The Symbolic Theology, The Theological Representations, The Properties and Ranks of Angels and On the Soul.

Despite of the suspition and accusations about the author’s real existence or even the authenticity of his works (that grew exponentially after the second half of the XIX century, after the publishing of two articles written by Koch and Stiglmayr, but were a constant since the Middle ages), the reputation of the Corpus Areopagiticum stood firmly as a huge influence for philosophers like Meister Eckhart, John Scotus Eriugena, Nicholas of Cusa and many more prominent medieval (and even modern) thinkers. The success of Dyonisius’ writings is all the more remarkable if taken into account that there isn’t any primite text that served as a core, or framework, for a work of falsification. For this reason, the label “Pseudo-” attached to the name Dyonisius only plays a pejorative role: there’s no genuine corpus from which this “Pseudo-” group of writings must be separated. For the contrary, there’s only one Corpus Areopagiticum, whose authorship corresponds to one author -either individual or collective-. After all, the very concept of “author” -as Foucault states- is fictional: the very same as the characters in a novel.

Sources:

Klitenic Wear S. & Dillon J., Dionysius the Areopagite and the Neoplatonist tradition: despoiling the Hellenes, Ashgate, Hampshire, 2007
Schäfer C., Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite. An introduction to the structure and the content of the treatise On the Divine Names, Brill, Leiden, 2006

Selected bibliography

Corpus dionysiacum

Lost/unpublished works

Porphyry

Biographical summary

Porphyry was one of the main exponents of Neoplatonism. He was responsible for editing the writings of his teacher, Plotinus, in the work known as the Enneads, in addition to contributing numerous texts to the development of Neoplatonism.

The Suda indicates that Porphyry was born in the year 232 in the city of Tyre, in the Roman province of Syria. He was called Malchus by his parents, and later renamed Porphyry by his teacher, Cassius Longinus, in Athens possibly alluding to his Phoenician ancestry.

In 262 he moves to Rome, attracted by Plotinus' reputation, and devotes himself to the practice of Neoplatonism, adopting an ascetic way of life from which his customs and diet were severely modified. After six years he begins to develop suicidal thoughts, for which he is sent to Sicily as a recommendation of his teacher. After his return to Rome, and after the death of Plotinus, Porphyry dedicates himself to editing the texts written by his teacher in the compendium known as Enneads.

Few biographical details about Porphyry are known after his teacher died. It is known that years later he married a widow named Marcella. The date of his death is controversial, although it is supposed to be around the year 305.

His main work, Isagoge (Εἰσαγωγή), was written to serve as an introduction to logic and philosophy. It enjoyed wide circulation during the Middle Ages, both in its Latin and Arabic translations.

The text consists of a commentary on Aristotle's Categories, as well as an introduction to Aristotelian logic. There, Porphyry breaks down the category of substance into five components: genus, species, specific difference, property, and accident. This way of presenting the substance had a great impact on the way in which the later tradition understands this category, marking the theoretical basis on which the so-called dispute over universals was developed. Aristotelian logic is incorporated into the more general framework of Neoplatonism, and the characterization that the Stagirite makes of the categories of Being is included in the Plotinian theory of the One.

Like the Neoplatonic posterity, the controversy with Christianity was a topic addressed by Porphyry, as seen in De Philosophia ex Oraculis Haurienda (Περὶ τῆς ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίας). It is subject of debate whether this work was written during his youth, or during the persecutions of Christians carried out by Diocletian. Adversus Christianos (Κατὰ Χριστιανῶν) is also part of this set of controversial works that the disciple of Plotinus dedicated against Christianity. Both texts caused a significant repercussion in the Christian world, eliciting responses from eminent figures such as Saint Augustine himself, Eusebius or Apollinarius, among others.

Porphyry's work, although fragmentary, constitutes the link that facilitated the appropriation, by the Middle Ages, of the particular form of Platonism that late antiquity processed from its fusion with Aristotelian, Stoic and religious elements. His main disciple, Iamblichus, continued - albeit with marked nuances - the development of the main Neoplatonic doctrines. It is through him, as well as the figure of Sopater of Apamea, that Neoplatonism reached the Academy of Athens, where it found an institutional channel for growing over the following centuries, as well as a gateway to the Middle Ages.

Source:
Barnes J., Porphyry, Introduction, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2003

Secondary bibliography

Barnes J., Porphyry, Introduction, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2003
Evangeliou C., Aristotle’s Categories and Porphyry, Brill, Leiden, 1996
Guzzo A., L’Isagoge di Porfirio e i commenti di Boezio, Turin, 1934
Hadot P., La métaphysique de Porphyre, in “Porphyre”, AA. VV., pp. 127-163
Hadot P., Plotin, Porphyre. Études néoplatoniciennes, Paris, 1999
Hadot P., Porphyre et Victorinus, 2 vols., Paris, 1968
Smith A., Porphyry’s Place in the Neoplatonic Tradition. A Study in the Post-Plotinian Neoplatonism, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1974

Chronology of works

Vita Plotini, in “Plotini opera”, vol. I, Henry P., ed., Brill, Leiden, 1951 

Vita Pythagorae, in “Porphyrii philosophi Platonici opuscula selecta”, Nauck A., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1886

De abstinentia, in “Porphyrii philosophi Platonici opuscula selecta”, Nauck A., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1886

De antro nympharum, in “Porphyry. The cave of the nymphs in the Odyssey”, Seminar Classics, ed., Deparment of Classics, State Universiry of New York, Buffalo, 1969

Ad Marcellam, in “Porphyrios. Πρὸς Μαρκέλλαν”, Pötscher W., Brill, Leiden, 1969

Isagoge, in “Porphyrii isagoge et in Aristotelis categorias commentarium”, Busse A., ed., Reimer, Berlin, 1887

In Aristotelis categorias, in “Porphyrii isagoge et in Aristotelis categorias commentarium”, Busse A., ed., Reimer, Berlin, 1887

Sententiae ad inteligibilia ducentes, in “Porphyrii sententiae ad intelligibilia ducentes”, Lamberz E., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1975

De philosophia ex oraculis, in “Porphyrii de philosophia ex oraculis haurienda”, Wolff G., ed., Springer, Berlin, 1956

Περὶ άγαλματων, in “Vie de Porphyre le philosophe néo–platonicien”, Bidez J., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1913

Epistula ad Anebonem, in “Porfirio. Lettera ad Anebo”, Sodano A. R., ed., L’Arte Tipografica, Napoles, 1958

Quaestionum Homericarum ad Iliadem pertinentium reliquiae, in “Porphyrii quaestionum Homericarum ad Iliadem pertinentium reliquiae”, vols. I & II, Schrader H., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1880 & 1882
Zetemata, in “Porphyrii quaestionum Homericarum ad Iliadem pertinentium reliquiae”, vols. I & II, Schrader H., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1880 & 1882
Quaestionum Homericarum, in “Porphyrii quaestionum Homericarum ad Iliadem pertinentium reliquiae”, vols. I & II, Schrader H., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1880 & 1882
Εἰς τὰ αρμονικὰ Πτολεμαίου ὑπόμνημα, in “Porphyrios. Kommentar zur Harmonielehre des Ptolemaios”, Düring I., ed., Elanders, Göteborg, 1932

Fragments

Contra Christianos, in “Porphyrius. Gegen die Christen”, von Harnack A., ed., Reimer, Berlin, 1916

Historia philosophiae, in “Porphyrii philosophi Platonici opuscula selecta”, Nauck A., ed., Teubner, Leipzig, 1886

In Platonis Parmenidem commentaria, in “Porphyre et Victorinus”, Hadot P., ed., Études Augustiniennes, Paris, 1968

In Platonis Timaeum commentaria, in “Porphyrii in Platonis Timaeum commentariorum fragmenta”, Sodano A. R., ed., Naples, 1964

Plotinus

Biographical summary

Plotinus was a Greek philosopher and responsible for the rise of the late-antique school of thought known as Neoplatonism. He was born in Egypt in 205 and educated in Alexandria under Ammonius Saccas, a philosopher who is also credited with the rise of Neoplatonism.

His interest in the Middle Eastern world and philosophy led him in 242 to embark on the expedition commanded by Emperor Gordian III against the Persians. After the failure of this company, Plotinus settled first in the Roman city of Antioch, and then in Rome. There he founded a school in 246, which would become the cradle of Neoplatonism and would be the framework in which Plotinus was linked with his main disciple and friend, Porphyry. Consistent with his philosophy, here he carried out an ascetic and contemplative way of life, accompanied by his disciples and various orphans that he adopted over the years. He established close relations with the elite of the Roman aristocracy, including the emperor Gallienus and his wife, Cornelia Salonina.

The mystical facet of the school founded by Plotinus constitutes one of his most distinctive notes. The ascetic way of life professed here fulfills a function in the search for mystical ascent towards God or the One and is underpinned in this task by a particular reading of Platonic, Aristotelian and Pythagorean sources. His philosophical doctrine is considered one of the most complete and systematic elaborations of ancient metaphysics.

From the year 254 Plotinus begins to write down his works, often helped by Porphyry. His 54 treatises were arranged in six books whose collective title is Enneads. Here, the Platonic doctrine intersects with Aristotelian metaphysics, but the emergence of a large number of original elements allows us to observe this extensive work as the result of an originality that would be recognized throughout the tradition of later thought.

The Plotinian system in Enneads can be explained as a process of emanation or derivation -and subsequent return- from a unique, infinite, ineffable and superior principle, being called by Plotinus the One. As the cause of the being of the entities, he himself It is not. As the cause of the knowledge of entities, it is itself unknowable and ineffable. Its uniqueness explains the existence of unity in entities, but its infinity surpasses any possibility of determination and limit, fundamental characteristics of the entity. The identification of the One with God summarizes the theological claim of the Plotinian philosophical system. The definition of it as beyond language opens the door to the mystical dimension of the philosopher's thought.

From this principle, Plotinus elaborates a complete cosmogony, linked to a physical one in the terms proposed by Aristotle. From the One derives, in a process of decantation of being from this, the whole of reality: the hypostases -the Nous and the Soul-, the whole of material reality and the human being, which is presented as a bridge between the first reality, intelligible and eternal, and the second, corruptible. This descending movement from the One to the material world is opposed to another of an ascending nature, in which reality returns to its ineffable principle.

The reception that posteriority has made of Plotinus crosses the whole history of philosophy. On the side of paganism, the sphere to which he belonged, he had a profound influence on thinkers such as Proclus, Damascius and Iamblichus, prominent members of the Academy. On the side of Christianity, Plotinus served as a link between the Platonic world and the Church, marking thinkers such as Dionysius the Areopagite or Saint Augustine. The separation of reality into two areas -intelligible and material- and the specific position that man fulfills in this scheme were attractive to a rising Christianity, which adopted it in order to form its own philosophical and theological system. Plotinus dies in the year 270 of leprosy. His inheritance, and the direction of his school, would be taken over by Porphyry, who would contribute to the systematization of Plotinian work even after his death.

Source:
Plotinus, Enéada I, translation, introduction and notes by Jesús Igal, Gredos, Madrid, 1992

Secondary bibliography

Armstrong A., The Architecture of the Intelligible Universe in the Philosophy of Plotinus, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1940
Dodds E. R., Tradition and Personal Achievement in the Philosophy of Plotinus. The Ancient Concept of Progress. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1973
Hadot P., Plotin ou la Simplicité du Regard, Paris, 1973
Inge W. R., The Philosophy of Plotinus, Longmans, Green and Co., Londres, 1923
Merlan P., From Platonism to Neoplatonism, Martinus Nijhoff, La Haya, 1960
Rist J. M., Plotinus. The Road to Reality, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1967

Chronology of works

c. 270, Enneads, in Plotini opera, 3 vols., Schwyzer H. P., ed., Brill, Leiden, 1951, 1959 & 1973

Plato

Biographical summary

Plato is the major and most renowned philosopher of western thinkers in terms of the legacy that posterity received from him. Not only because of his exceptional written production, but also thanks to the topics and problematics developed in it, which defined undoubtedly the entirety of western history of thought: this was properly noted by the british philosopher Alfred Whitehead, for whom all of philosophy consists of a series of side notes to platonic philosophy. The academy, founded by him around the year 387 BC was the most famous center of philosophical teaching in the Classical Age.

He was born in the year 427 BC in the blossom of a noble Athenian family, during the moment of major military and commercial expansion of the Greek polis. The Athenian defeat, at the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC, constitutes the background of the theoric production of Plato. The search of an absolute moral value -the core goal of his work- contrasts with the background of economic, social and political decay that the city of Athens went through the years after its defeat in hands of the Peloponnesian League. 

The platonic opus can be organized in three main chronological and thematic groups, usually known as early, middle and late. Even though subject to controversy, said periodisation allows us to observe the process of evolution of Plato’s theoric production, from an eminently negative period, traversed by the abandonment of preconceived beliefs about the world, to a positive second moment, where a clear and finished ontology and metaphysic is presented, and where a unique vision of politics, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, and more topics emerges from these. A last, a third moment where the theoric elaboration found in the second period is met with a critical revision of the expositions previously made, highlighting reformulations and the explicit abandonment of some positions. In the three periodsPlato’s, the literary genre used exclusively for writing is the dialogue. The dialectic method in Plato is not a mere literary, estetic o even rhetorical resource, but an expression of his gnoseologic proposal, his particular vision of innatism and even his Theory of Ideas. The character of Socrates, Plato’s teacher, constitutes the permanent interlocutor that drives the development of the dialogues.

Within his early dialogues, Meno (Μένων) stands out as one of the main references. It consists of a dialogue between Socrates and the person who bears the name of the work around the question of what virtue is. The review of traditional definitions about the concept or those created by Meno itself ends, thanks to the refutatory process used by Socrates -known as elenchos-, with the certainty that said definition cant be achieved. The dialogue ends in apory.

Republic (Πολιτεία) is one of the most read and commented works of the Attic philosopher, and sets the paradigm for what are called middle dialogues. It was written around year 375 BC, and expresses some of the political and ethical views that were subject of debate during Plato's stay with the young tyrant of Siracusse, Dionysus II, which had a tragic outcome in terms not only of the failure of Plato's attempt to turn the young monarch into a philosopher king, but also due to the overthrow of Dionysus by his uncle, Dion.

The dialogue aims to define the concept of justice. Because of that goal, Plato introduces his Theory of Ideas, utilizing a series of similes, images, allegories and myths to explain it, among which the famous allegories of the cave and the line stand out. The aporetil character that marked the first dialogues of youth is here surpassed in a positive way: the introduction of the Theory of Ideas allows Plato to overcome the aporetic end that the elenchos process ended up before, and makes him able to define justice as part of the introduction of a brand new ontology.

Parmenides (Παρμενίδης) is one of the last late dialogues written by Plato, where he proposes an almost complete review of the contents developed by the author during his maturity period. Here,  a young Socrates is questioned by an authority figure, Parmenides, who makes some crucial objections to the Theory of Ideas. The elenchos process is here used against a young Socrates, who can't do anything but recognize its incapacity to defend his theory against the eleatic master.

Through his work, Plato defined the scope of Western thought for millennia after his death. Along with his main disciple, Aristotle, he thematized the fundamental issues and problems of metaphysics and ontology. His role as father of western religiosity can't be doubted: the readings made by their intellectual heirs -later known by the historiographical tradition as neoplatonists- were essential to trace the link between philosophy and Christianity that would drive the theoretical growth of both during the last years of the Roman Empire and during the long centuries of the Middle Ages and modernity. After his death, the Academy continued to serve as the undisputed center of the Athenian and Mediterranean intelligentsia in general until its destruction in 86 BC, by the armies of the Roman Republic.

Bibliography
Guthrie W. K. C., Historia de la filosofía griega, Gredos, Madrid, 1988

Renowned bibliography

Guthrie W. K. C., Historia de la filosofía griega, Gredos, Madrid, 1988
Brandwood L., The Chronology of Plato's Dialogues, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990
Burnet J., Platonism, University of California Press, 1928
Dodds E. R., The Greeks and the Irrational, University of California Press, 1951
Kahn C. H., Plato and the Socratic Dialogue: The Philosophical Use of a Literary Form, Cambridge University Press, 1996
McDowell J., Plato: Theaetetus, Oxford University Press, 1973
Slings S. R., Platonis Rempublicam, Oxford University Press, 2003

Chronology of works

Between 399 and 393 DC
Apology of Socrates (Ἀπολογία Σωκράτους), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 1, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1900
Ion (Ἴων), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Crito (Κρίτων), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 1, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1900
Laches (Λάχης), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Lysis (Λύσις), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Charmides (Χαρμίδης), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Eutiphro (Εὐθύφρων), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 1, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1900

Between 393 and 385 BC
Protagoras (Πρωταγόρας), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Gorgias (Γοργίας), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Meno (Μένων), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Euthydemus (Εὐθύδημος), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Cratylus (Κρατύλος), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 1, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1900
Menexenus (Μενέξενος), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Hippias major (Ἱππίας μείζων), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903
Hippias minor (Ἱππίας ἐλάττων), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 3, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1903

Between 385 and 369 BC
Symposium (Συμπόσιον), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 2, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1901
Phaedo (Φαίδων), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 1, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1900
Phaedro (Φαῖδρος), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 2, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1901
Republic (Πολιτεία), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 4, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1902

Between 369 and 347 BC
Theaetetus (Θεαίτητος), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 1, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1900
Parmenides (Παρμενίδης), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 2, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1901
Sophist (Σοφιστής), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 1, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1900
Politicus (Πολιτικός), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 1, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1900
Philebus (Φίληβος), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 2, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1901
Timaeus (Τίμαιος), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 4, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1902
Critias (Κριτίας), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 4, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1902
Laws (Νόμοι), en “Platonis opera”, vol. 5, Burnet J. (ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1907
 

Iamblichus

Biographical summary

Iamblichus was born into a noble pagan family approximately in the year 240, in the town of Chalcis ad Belum, part of the Roman province of Syria. The few biographical information known about the life of the philosopher mostly came from De philosophorum vitis, written by Eunapius. The lack of knowledge about Iamblichus’ life contrasts with the influence exercised by him during his life.

After finishing his studies with the neoplatonist Porphyry at a mature age, Iamblichus settled in Apamea, establishing a philosophy school that would later be considered within the succession line of the Platonic Academy.

De mysteriis Aegyptiorum (Περὶ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων μυστηρίων), his most important work, was written possibly around the first years of relation between Iamblichus and Porphyry, around 280, and, therefore, can be placed as one of his first works. It's an apology of the pagan rites and magic -at the same time that a relation between those and neoplatonism is made- in a context when Christianism developed hastily within the frontiers of the Roman Empire.

Mainly because of this work, Iamblichus is considered to have eclectically imported into neoplatonism thought some aspects of magical tradition. As Eunapius stated, he even performed a magical ritual on one occasion: when visiting Gadara, Iamblichus conjured two spirits in the form of kids. Moreover, his interest in Chaldean oracles made him write an extensive work about the topic. This tendency to incorporate Egyptian, Chaldean or even magical elements into the platonic tradition is seen by some authors not as a novelty of Iamblichus, or some sort of degradation of neoplatonism with elements that are external to philosophical thought, but as a deepening of a relation between both traditions whose germen was present in platonic tradition of old.  

It's possible that Iamblichus wasn't fond of seeing the term “magical” attached to his writings. De mysteriis itself tries to establish a distinction between the regular use of magic and divine theurgy: while the first tries to manipulate the resources of nature as a means to a specific end, the second aspires to demonstrate the causative powers that can be found behind it. More than a mere exposition of magical knowledge, Iamblichus' work presents a dynamic -even more profound as the years go by- of tensions, controversies and clashes between paganism and christianity in the Roman Empire: De mysteriis seeks to give sustent to paganism through its lecture within the scope of neoplatonic doctrine.

De vita pythagorica (Βίος Πυθαγορικός), work initially planned as an introduction of a compendium of the pythagorean doctrine, constitutes one of the best sources about this current of thought that survived to this day. It's possible that this work, along with many others lost after Iamblichus' death, was meant to play a didactic role in the school founded by him in Syria. The commentaries written by him -many of which are lost, too- about Aristotle and Plato may have performed the same role.

Protrepticus (Λόγος Προτρεπτικὸς εἰς φιλοσοφίαν) shares the same purpose with the previously mentioned works: consisting of various passages quoted from Aristotle, Plato and Pythagoras, presumably its objective is to present them in Iamblichus' school. De communi mathematica scientia (Περὶ τῆς κοινῆς μαθηματικῆς ἐπιστήμης) is placed within the same group of writings, written possibly around year 300, during the first years of the institution.

Iamblichus died around 325, leaving a vast philosophical legacy that will deeply influence later neoplatonism, as it can be seen in authors like Proclus or Damascius. The school founded in Syria dissolved shortly after its founder's death, possibly shaken by the turbulence of the imperial political life of the fourth century.

Sources:
Dillon J. M. (1973), “Iamblichi Chalcidensis in Platonis dialogos commentariorum fragmenta”, Leiden, Brill
Shaw, G. (1967), “Theurgy and the Soul. The neoplatonism of Iamblichus”, University Park, The pennsylvania State University Press

Chronology of works

Περὶ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων μυστηρίων (De mysteriis Aegyptiorum), in “Iamblichus. De mysteriis”, Clarke E. C., Dillon J., Hershbell J., eds. & trads., Leiden, Brill, 2004. Manuscript: British Library, Londres, reg. 5795, sheet 01-99v
Βίος Πυθαγορικός (De vita pythagorica), Deubner L., Klein U., eds., Stuttgart, Teubner, 1975 
Θεολογούμενα ἀριθμητικῆς (Theologoumena Arithmeticae), de Falco V., Klein U., eds., Stuttgart, Teubner, 1975 
Περὶ τῆς κοινῆς μαθηματικῆς ἐπιστήμης (De communi mathematica scientia), Festa N., Klein U., eds., Stuttgart, Teubner, 1975 
Λόγος Προτρεπτικὸς εἰς φιλοσοφίαν (Protrepticus), Pistelli E., Klein U, eds., Stuttgart, Teubner, 1996 
Περὶ τῆς Νικομάχου ἀριθμετικῆς εἰσαγωγῆς (In Nicomachi arithmeticam introductionem), Pistelli E., Klein U., eds., Stuttgart, Teubner, 1975 
Fragments about pythagorism (presumably belonging to the lost tomes of which De vita pythagorica played an introductory role), in “New fragments from Iamblichus’ Collection of Pythagorean Doctrines”, O’Meara D., ed., American Journal of Philology, nº 102, 1981
Commentary about First analytics in Περὶ Ἀναλυτικῶν προτέρων (In Analytica priora commentaria), Wallies M., ed., Berlin, Reimer, 1905
Commentary about De caelo, in “Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca”, Heiberg J. L., ed., Berlin, 1894
Περὶ Ψυχῆς, in “Iamblichus De Anima: Text, Translation, and Commentary”, Finamore, J. F. & Dillon J. M., eds., Leiden, Brill, 2002
Commentary about Metaphysic in “In Aristotelis Metaphysica commentaria”, Kroll, W., ed., Berlín, 1902
In Platonis Alcibiadem, in “Iamblichi Chalcidensis in Platonis dialogos commentariorum fragmenta”, Dillon J. M., ed. & tr., Leiden, Brill, 1973
In Platonis Phaedonem, in “Iamblichi Chalcidensis in Platonis dialogos commentariorum fragmenta”, Dillon J. M., ed. & tr., Leiden, Brill, 1973
In Platonis Phaedro, in “Iamblichi Chalcidensis in Platonis dialogos commentariorum fragmenta”, Dillon J. M., ed. & tr., Leiden, Brill, 1973
In Platonis Philebum, in “Iamblichi Chalcidensis in Platonis dialogos commentariorum fragmenta”, Dillon J. M., ed. & tr., Leiden, Brill, 1973 
In Platonis Timaeum, in “Iamblichi Chalcidensis in Platonis dialogos commentariorum fragmenta”, Dillon J. M., ed. & tr., Leiden, Brill, 1973 
In Platonis Sophistam, in “Iamblichi Chalcidensis in Platonis dialogos commentariorum fragmenta”, Dillon J. M., ed. & tr., Leiden, Brill, 1973
In Platonis Parmenidem, in “Iamblichi Chalcidensis in Platonis dialogos commentariorum fragmenta”, Dillon J. M., ed. & tr., Leiden, Brill, 1973

Lost originals
῾Η χαλδαικὴ θεολογία (De theologia chaldaica)
Comentario sobre Categorías 
Θεολογία Πλατωνική (Theologia Platonica) 
Περὶ θεῶν 
Περὶ χρίσεως ἀρίστου λόγου

Renowned bibliography

Blumenthal, H. J. & Clark, E. G. (eds.) (1993), “The divine Iamblichus, philosopher and man of Gods”, Bristol, Bristol Classical Press.
Dillon, J. M. (1973), “Iamblichi Chalcidensis in Platonis dialogos commentariorum fragmenta”, Leiden, Brill
Dodds, E. R. (1973), “The Greeks and the Irrational”, Berkeley & Los Angeles, University of
California Press
Finamore, J. (1985), “Iamblichus and the Theory of the Vehicle of the Soul”, Chico. CA,
Scholars Press
Larsen, B. D. (1972), “Jamblique de Chalcis: Exégète et philosophe”, Aarhus: Universitets-forlaget
Saffrey, H. D. (1984), "Quelques Aspects de la spiritualité des philosophes néoplatonicienes:
De Jamblique à Prochs et Damascius", Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Théologiques, nº 68
Shaw, G. (1967), “Theurgy and the Soul. The neoplatonism of Iamblichus”, University Park, The pennsylvania State University Press
Steel, C. (1978), “The Changing Self. A Study of the Soul in Later Neoplatonism: Iamblichus,
Damascius, Priscianus”, Bruselas, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie von België
voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten

Gregory of Nyssa

Biographical summary

The exact date of birth of Gregory of Nyssa is subject to controversy. It’s often situated after the year 329 -date of birth of his older brother, Basilius-, presumably around 335, in the bosom of a rich christian family of the Pontus.

De virginitate (Περὶ παρθενίας, 371) marks the beginning of a vast and rich theoretical production that will spawn for more than twenty years. It was written the same year that Gregory entered ecclesiastical life (in 372 he was elected bishop) by the hand of his older brother. After a relatively brief exile, caused by the successive clashes between his family and Roman Emperor Valens, he writes three works: De opificio hominis (Περὶ κατασκευῆς ἀνθρώπου), Apologia in Hexameron (Εἰς τὴν ῾Εξαημερον) and De beatitudinibus (Εἰς τοὺς μακαρισμούς), in which can be traced the will of the Nyssen to present himself as a follower of his brother’s unfinished deeds, who died in that same year, both in terms of his theoric production and his intervention in ecclesiatical affairs. At the same time, the three writings attest a profound erudition in various Greek thinkers, both pagan and Christian.

Contra Eunomium (Των εκδοθέντων παρὰ Ευνομίου δυο λόγων μετὰ τὴν κοίμησιν τοῦ ἁγίου βασιλείου αντιρρητικός εἰς τὸν πρῶτον λόγον), whose two first tomes were written in 380, can be placed in the same frame as the other three works. Gregory, as Silvas points out, founds himself at this time playing the role of apologist of the neo-nicen orthodoxy: in this case, against arianism. Adversus Macedonianos (Περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πηευματος κατὰ μακεδονιανών τῶν πνευματομάχων) dates from the same year.

In 381, during the First council of Constantinople, gathered by Valens’ successor, Emperor Theodosius I, its assigned to Gregory of Nyssa the task of visiting the churches of Araby and Jesusalem. His stay in the latter didn’t went as planned and, as a consequence, between 382 and 383 he wrote Adversus Apolinarium (Προς τὰ Απολιναρίου αντιρρητικός) as a response to the accusations received. The third tome of Contra Eunomium (Κατα ευνομιου τοῦ τριτου λογου τομος Α’) was written, too, in that year, becoming the most extense work ever written by Gregory about a controversy.

De anima et resurrectione (Ζήτησις περὶ ψυχῆς μετὰ τῇς ίδιας αδελφής μακρινής) can be placed as one of the highlights of his philosophical production. It was written in 383 and takes the shape of a dialogue with his older and deceased sister, Macrina. Here, the concept of ἀποκατάστασις, the restoration of everything in God, entails a tension between Gregory itself and his theoric heritage received by Basil, who expressly rejected that concept.

Gregory stayed in Constantinople during Summer and Autumn of 385, as part of his assistance to the Council celebrated during that year. That was circumstance for the redaction of Contra fatum (Κατά ειμαρμένης), which coincides with a very rich exchange that he established in the imperial capital with various intellectuals, both Christians and pagans. After his return from the city Gregory writes Oratio catechetica (Λόγος κατηχητικός), where he tries to establish a systematic theology and polemize with pagans, Jews and heretics. The way that he chooses to accomplish it is by a metaphysical fundamentation of the Christian doctrine.

In this period, placed in the last years of his theoric production, Gregory plays a prominent role as consultant of the Church in the Eastern Empire, in Constantinople, as well as in Syria and Cappadocia. At the time, there’s a rise of heretic sects such as the Apollinarians, an issue that is well documented in his works. In his last decade of life Gregory focuses on study the notion of progress in the boundaries of spiritual life: in this context the spritual doctrine of ἐπέκτασις is born. Two writings of this period highlight in this matter: In cantico canticorum (᾽Εξήγησις τοῦ ῎Αισματος τῶν ᾽Αισμάτων) and De vita Moysis (Περὶ ἀρετῆς ήτοι εἰς τὸν βίον Μωϋσέως), both written past 390.

In these two works it can be found Gregory’s will to deepen his knowledge of monastic life, continuing, maybe, the job his brother Basil left inconclude years before. In the figure of the bride in In cantico canticorum is found one of the central topics that motivates Gregory in his last years of written production: the spiritual progress towards God, simultaneously infinite and tireless, and pushed forward by the divine image the man is, which is reflected in a limitless capacity of progress towards the Good. The human approach towards perfection -topic present, in a way or another, in a great part of Gregory’s writings- is here treated deeply.

The same theme is attended in De vita Moysis, work divided between an exposition of Moses life according to the Bible, and a spiritual interpretation of it, centered on the constant communion between him and God: communion that can’t be achieved by means of the intellect, or representations, but solely by the obscurity of the faith. Apophaticism is a key note in De vita Moysis and In cantico canticorum: in both can be found a mystical approach to the concept of darkness, which refers to the incapacity of the human mind to access the divine essence. Consciousness of this incapacity, as Gregory points out, is the higher form of contemplation of the divine that we can achieve.

The last mention of Gregory of Nyssa that can be found is about his participation in a Synode in Constantinople in 394. After that, there are no mentions about him in any historical record. It’s possible that he died at the end of that same year, or during the next one.


Sources:
Daniélou, J., (1961) “From glory to glory. Texts from Gregory of Nyssa’s mystical writings”, Musurillo, H., trad., Nueva York, Scribner
Silvas, A. M., (2007) “Gregory of Nyssa: The Letters. Introduction, Translation and Commentary”, Leiden, Brill

Chronology of works

371, Περὶ παρθενίας (De virginitate), in “GNO VIII/1. Opera ascetica”, Jaeger W., Cavarnos J.P., Woods Callahan V., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1952

374-375, Κατα Αρείου  καὶ Σαβελλιου (Adversus Arium et Sabellium de Patre et Filio), in “GNO III/1. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. I, Mueller F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1958

374-376, Εἰς τὸ πάτερ ἡμῶν (De oratione dominica), in “GNO VII/2” ,Callahan J. F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1992

circa 376-378, Εἰς τὰς επιγραφάς τῶν Ψαλμών (In inscriptiones Psalmorum), in “GNO V”, McDonough J., Alexander P., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1962

circa 376-378, Εἰς τὸν ἕκτον ψαλμόν περὶ τῆς ογδόης (In sextum Psalmum), in “GNO V”, McDonough J., Alexander P., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1962

379, Εἰς τὴν ῾Εξαημερον (Apologia in Hexaemeron), in “GNO IV/1. Exegetica In Genesim”, vol. I, Drobner H., ed., Leiden, Brill, 2009

379, Περὶ κατασκευῆς ἀνθρώπου (De opificio hominis), in “Patrologiae cursus completus (series Graeca)”, vol. XLIV, Migne J. P., Paris, Migne, 1863

379, Εἰς τοὺς μακαρισμούς (De beatitudinibus), in “GNO VII/2”, Callahan J. F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1992

ante 379, Λόγος εἰς τοὺς κοιμηθέντας (De mortuis oratio), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

379, Λόγος εἰς τὸ ἅγιον Πάσχα (In sanctum Pascha (= In Christi resurrectionem III)), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

379, Εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους τεσσαράκοντα Μάρτυρας λόγος εγκωμιαστικός ρηθείς ἐν τώι Μαρτυριωι (In XL Martyres II), in “GNO X/1. Sermones” vol. II, Heil G., Cavarnos J. P., Οttο Lendle, Friedhelm Μann, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1990

380, Των εκδοθέντων παρὰ Ευνομίου δυο λόγων μετὰ τὴν κοίμησιν τοῦ ἁγίου βασιλείου αντιρρητικός εἰς τὸν πρῶτον λόγον (Contra eunomium I y II), in “GNO I”, Jaeger W., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1960

380, Προς Ευσταθιον περὶ τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος (Ad Eustathium de sancta Trinitate), in “GNO III/1. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. I, Mueller F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1958

circa 380-382, Πῶς τρία πρόσωπα λέγοντες ἐν τῇ θεότητι οὔ φαμεν τρεῖς θεούς πρὸς τὸυς ῞Ελληνας ἀπὸ τῶν κοινῶν ἐννοιῶν (Ad Graecos. Ex communibus notionibus), in “GNO III/1. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. I, Mueller F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1958

380, Περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πηευματος κατὰ μακεδονιανών τῶν πνευματομάχων (Adversus Macedonianos de Spiritu Sancto), in “GNO III/1. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. I, Mueller F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1958

post. 380, ᾽Επιστολή διὰ τὴν εγγαστρίμυθον πρὸς θεοδόσιον ἐπίσκοπον (De Pythonissa), in “GNO III/2. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. II, Downing K., McDonough J. A., Horner H., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1987

380, Εἰς τὸν βίον καὶ τὰ θαύματα τοῦ ἐν ἅγιοις πατρός ἡμῶν Γρηγορίου Θαυματουργοῦ (De vita Gregorii Thaumaturgi), in “GNO X/1. Sermones”, vol. II, Heil G., Cavarnos J. P., Lendle O., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1990

381, ᾽Επιτάφιος εἰς Μελέτιον επίσκοπον Αντιοχείας (Oratio funebris in Meletium episcopum), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

381, ᾽Εγκώμιον εἰς τὸν ἅγιον μεγαλομάρτυρα Θεόδωρον (De sancto Theodoro), in “GNO X/1. Sermones”, vol. II, Gunter Heil, Heil G., Cavarnos J. P., Lendle O., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1990

381, ᾽Εγκώμιον εἰς τὸν μεγαν Βασίλειον τὸν αδελφόν αὑτοῦ (In Basilium fratrem), in “GNO X/1. Sermones”, vol. II, Heil G., Cavarnos J. P., Lendle O., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1990

381, Προς τοὺς βραδυνόντας εἰς τὸ βάπτισμα (Adversus eos qui baptismum differunt), in “GNO X/2. Sermones”, vol. III, Rhein E., Μann F., Teske D., Polack H., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1996

381, Εἰς τὸν Εκκλησιαστην ὁμιλία (In Ecclesiasten Homiliae), in “GNO V”, McDonough J., Alexander P., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1962

circa 381-383, Εἰς τὸν βίον τῆς ὁσιᾶς Μακρίνες (Vita Sancta Macrinae), in “GNO VIII/1. Opera ascetica”, Jaeger W., Cavarnos J. P., Woods Callahan V., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1952

381, Εἰς τὸ ὁ δὲ πορνεύων εἰς τὸ ἴδιον σῶμα αμαρτάνει (Contra fornicarios), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

381, Προς Σιμπλίκιον περὶ πίστεως (Ad Simplicium De fide), in “GNO III/1. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol I, Mueller F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1958

381, Εἰς τὴν ἑαυτὸυ χειροτονίαν πρὸς Ευαγριον περὶ θεότητος (De deitate adversus Evagrium (= In suam ordinationem)), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

circa 383, Προς τὰ Απολιναρίου αντιρρητικός (Adversus Apolinarium. Antirrheticus), en “GNO III/1. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. I, Mueller F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1958

382, Περὶ τῇς τριημέρου προθεςμίας τῇς  ἀναςτάςεως τὸυ κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριςτού (De tridui inter mortem et resurrectionem Domini nostri Iesu Christi spatio (= In Christi resurrectionem I)), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

382, Περί ευποιίας (De beneficentia (= De pauperibus amandis I)), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

382, Εἰς τὸ γενέθλιον τὸυ σωτῆρος (In diem natalem salvatoris), in “GNO X/2. Sermones”, vol. III, Rhein E., Μann F., Teske D., Polack H., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1996

382, Προς τοὺς αχθομένους ταῖς επιτιμήσεσι (Adversus eos qui castigationes aegre ferunt), in “GNO X/2. Sermones”, vol. III, Rhein E., Μann F., Teske D., Polack H., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1996

383, Κατα ευνομιου τοῦ τριτου λογου τομος Α’ (Contra eunomium III), in “GNO II”, Jaeger W., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1960

383, Ζήτησις περὶ ψυχῆς μετὰ τῇς ίδιας αδελφής μακρινής (De anima et resurrectione), in “GNO III/3. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. III, Spira A, ed., Leiden, Brill, 2014

ante. 383, ᾽Επιστολὴ κανονικὴ τοῦ ἁγίου Γρηγορίου ἐπισκόπου Νύσσης πρὸς τὸν ἐν ἅγιοις λητόϊον ἐπίςκοπον Μελιτηνῆς (Epistula canonica), in “GNO III/5. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. V, Μϋhlenberg E., ed., Leiden, Brill, 2008

383, ᾽Εγκώμιον εἰς τὸν ἅγιον πρωτομάρτυρα Στέφανον (In sanctum Stephanum I), in “GNO X/1. Sermones”, vol II, Heil G., Cavarnos J. P., Lendle O., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1990

383, ῞Ετερον ἐγκώμοιν εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Στέφανον τὸν πρωτομάρτυρα (In sanctum Stephanum II), in “GNO X/1. Sermones”, vol II, Heil G., Cavarnos J. P., Lendle O., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1990

383, ᾽Εγκώμιον εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους τεσσαράκοντα Μάρτυρας (In XL Martyres Ia y Ib), in “GNO X/1. Sermones”, vol II, Heil G., Cavarnos J. P., Lendle O., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1990

383, Εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν τῶν φώτων (In diem luminum (= In baptismum Christi)), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

383, Περι θεότητος υιου καὶ πνεύματος καὶ εἰς τὸν ᾽Αβραάμ (De Deitate filii et spiritus sancti et in Abraham), in “GNO X/2. Sermones”, vol. III, Rhein E., Μann F., Teske D., Polack H., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1996

384, Εἰς τὸ εφόσον ἑνί τούτων ἐποιήσατε ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε (In illud Quatenus uni ex his fecistis (= De pauperibus amandis II)), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

384, Κατὰ τοκιζόντων (Contra usurarios), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

post. 385, Εἰς τὸ τότε καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ υἱός ὑποταγήσεται τωι ὑποτάξαντι αὐτῶι τὰ πάντα (In illud: Tunc et ipse Filius), in “GNO III/2. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. II, Downing K., McDonough J. A., Horner H., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1987

385, Προς Θεόφιλον κατὰ ἀπὸλιναριςτων (Ad Theophilum Adversus Apolinaristas), in “GNO III/1. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. I, Mueller F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1958

385, Κατά ειμαρμένης (Contra fatum), in “GNO III/2. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. II, Downing K., McDonough J. A., Horner H., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1987

385, Εἰς Πουλχερίαν παραμυθητικός λόγος (Oratio consolatoria in Pulcheriam), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

385, ᾽Επιτάφιος εἰς πλακίλλαν βασίλισσαν (Oratio funebris in Flacillam imperatricem), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

circa 386-387, Λόγος κατηχητικός (Oratio catechetica), in “GNO III/4. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. IV, Μϋhlenberg E., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1996

circa 386-393, Περί τοῦ μὴ οἴεσθαι λέγειν τρεῖς θεούς πρὸς Αβλάβιον (Ad Ablabium quod non sint tres dei), in “GNO III/1. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. I, Mueller F., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1958

post. 386, Προς ιέριον περὶ τῶν πρὸ ώρας ἀναρπαζομένων νηπίων (De infantibus praemature abreptis), in “GNO III/2. Opera dogmatica minora”, vol. II, Downing K., McDonough J. A., Horner H., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1987

388, Λόγος εἰς τὸ ἅγιον Πάσχα (In sanctum et salutare Pascha (= In Christi resurrectionem IV)), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

388, Εἰς τὴν λεγομένην τῶι επιχωριωι τῶν καππαδοκών εθει επισωιζομενην ἥτις ἐστιν ἡ ἀνάληψις τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριςτού (In ascensionem Christi), in “GNO IX. Sermones”, vol. I, Heil G., van Heck A., Gebhardt E., Spira A, eds., Leiden, Brill, 1967

388, Λόγος εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν Πεντηκοστήν (In sanctam Pentecosten), in “GNO X/2. Sermones”, vol. III, Rhein E., Μann F., Teske D., Polack H., Μann F., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1996

390, Περὶ ἀρετῆς ήτοι εἰς τὸν βίον Μωϋσέως (De vita Moysis), in “GNO VII/1”, Musurillo H., ed., Leiden, Brill, 1964. Manuscript: British Library, Londres, reg. 22509, sheet 087-93

post 390, ᾽Εξήγησις τοῦ ῎Αισματος τῶν ᾽Αισμάτων (Commentarius in Canticum Canticorum), en “GNO VI”, Langerbeck H., ed., Berlin, Brill, 1960. Manuscript: Trinity College, Cambridge, reg. B.07.03 (180), sheet 001-184

post 390, Περὶ τοῦ κατὰ θεόν σκοποῦ καὶ τῆς κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ασκήσεως (De instituto Christiano), in “GNO VIII/1. Opera ascetica”, Jaeger W., Cavarnos J. P., Woods Callahan V., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1952

post 390, Προς αρμονιόν περὶ τοῦ τι τὸ τοῦ Χριστιανού ἐπάγγελμα (De professione Christiana), in “GNO VIII/1. Opera ascetica”, Jaeger W., Cavarnos J. P., Woods Callahan V., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1952

post 390, Προς ολύμπιον περὶ τελειότητος (De perfectione), in “GNO VIII/1. Opera ascetica”, Jaeger W., Cavarnos J. P., Woods Callahan V., eds., Leiden, Brill, 1952

Renowned bibliography

Balás, D. L. (1966) “ΜΕΤΟΥΣΙΑ ΘΕΟΥ: Man's participation in God's perfections according to Saint Gregory of Nyssa”, Pontificium Institutum S. Anselmi, Roma
Cherniss, M. F. (1930) “The platonism of Gregory of Nyssa”, Univ. Illinois Publ. Class. Philol., Berkeley
Daniélou, J. (1961) “From glory to glory. Texts from Gregory of Nyssa’s mystical writings”, Musurillo, H., trad., Nueva York, Scribner
Daniélou, J. (1967) “Grégoire de Nysse et le néoplatonisme de l´école d´Athènes”, Rev. Ét. Grecq.
Jaeger, W. W. (1954) “Two Rediscovered Works of Ancient Christian Literature: Gregory of Nyssa and Macarius”, Leiden, Brill 
Merki, H. (1952) “ὉΜΟΙΩΣΙΣ ΘΕΩΙ: Von der platonischen Angleichung an Gott zur Gottähnlichkeit bei Gregor von Nyssa”, Paulusverlag (Freiburg/Schweiz)
Ladner, G. B. (1958) “The philosophical anthropology of Saint Gregory of Nyssa”, in Dumbarton Oaks papers, Vol. 12, Harvard University

Proclus

Biographical summary

Proclus was born somewhere between 410 and 412, in Constantinople, in the bosom of a wealthy Lician family. His work, one of the last expressions of classical paganism, shares both elements of philosophical enquire and religious exegesis: his role in the Academy -and, therefore, the general scope of his written production- involves the teaching and the study of the great classical thinkers as well as the usage of this knowledge for the purpose of a better understanding of the religious pagan world.

His disembark in the Greek city of Athens culminates a learning process that Proclus began in Janto and, later, in Alexandria, with studies in rhetoric, mathematics and philosophy. Once in the Attic city, he got in contact with renowned thinkers like Plutarch and Syrianus, of whom later Proclus inherited the title of director of the Academy, Diádokhos. His written production is closely related to this period, which will last until the end of his days.

The establishment of a chronology of Proclus’ works constitutes, at least, a difficult task: the main biographic source that survived to this day about the life of the Diádokhos is Vita Procli, written by Marinus, Proclus’ disciple, which doesn’t contain any chronological information about the philosopher’s writings. The scarce assumptions that can be made about this matter are given only by this biography.

Nevertheless, it’s known that In Timaeum (Εἰς τὸν Πλάτωνος Τίμαιον) was written when Proclus was only 27 years old, marking the beginning of his theoretical production. This commentary constitutes only one of the various ones that he wrote alongside his life, mostly with didactic purposes within the framework of the Academic life. The argumentative structure of these works follows the same pattern: the text to comment is divided in several passages, of which Proclus first expose the theory that underlines each of them, followed by a explicitation of the method used to present this theory. In Cratilum (᾽Εχ τῶν τοῦ Φιλοσόφου Πρόχλου Σχολίων εἰς τὸν Κράτυλον Πλάτωνος ᾽Εχλογαὶ Χρήσιμα), another crucial commentary in Proclus’ written production, constitutes an exception to this method: it’s made up of a selection of passages that refer to the same platonic dialogue without any further relation between them.

In Parmenidem (Εἰς τὸν Πλάτωνος Παρμενίδην), if shorter than the commentary on the Timaeum, plays a central role in Proclus’ written production thanks to the weight this dialogue had to the fifth-century Neoplatonists: here, Proclus introduces a systematic structure with the purpose of scientifically demonstrating the divine ordering from the One principle.

De malorum subsistentia made it to our time (the same as other two key works of Proclus, De Providentia et Fato and De decem dubitationis) thanks to a latin translation posterior to the death of the philosopher. The issue treated here is linked to the existence of evil in a world ruled by the Good: the location of the first in the human soul, as long as it is directed to the earthly and lowest impulses, clearly refers to the platonic tradition, present in dialogues such a Phaedo.

Elementa theologica (Στοιχείωσις Θεολογιχή) focus on presenting the principles of Neoplatonic metaphysics as a set of prepositions, starting from the multiplicity of the matter and concluding with the postulation of the existence of the One. The method used here, as same as in the Elements of Euclid, determines the truth of a proposition based on the previous.

While Elementa theologica studies the universe and its relation with the One, Theologia platonica (Εἰς τὴν Πλάτωνος Θεολογίαν, usually considered the last work of Proclus) focuses on the Gods, relating what is said about them in Plato’s dialogues with the teachings of the Caldean and Orphic oracles. Because of that, this writing can be placed more within the boundaries of hermeneutic theology, than in the scope of traditional philosophy. It’s possible to infer, thanks to the fact that in Theologia platonica are quotes to In Parmenidem, that the prior is posterior to the latter.

Proclus died in 485, leaving the Academy that he led during all his adult life in the hands of Marinus. His intervention in the Athenian institution led to its prosperity in a context where the city wasn’t yet fully recovered from the destruction suffered by hands of the Romans at the end of the I century AD. It wasn’t until the VI century, with Damascius as director of de Academy, that the city would recover from its wounds and turn, again, in the center of the imperial intellectual life. 

Sources
Chlup, R. (2012), “Proclus, an introduction”, Cambridge, University Press
Siorvanes, L. (1996), “Proclus. Neo-Platonic Philosophy and Science”, New Haven, Yale University Press

Chronology of works

Philosophical works:
Στοιχείωσις Θεολογιχή (Elementa theologica), Dodds E. R., ed. & tr., Oxford, Claredon Press, 1933. Manuscript: Special collections research center, University of Chicago, Illinois. Manuscript: Burgerbibliothek, Berna, reg. 362, sheet 001-100

Εἰς τὴν Πλάτωνος Θεολογίαν (Theologia platonica), in “Platonic theology: théologie platonicienne”, vol. I-V, Saffrey H. H., Westerink G., eds. & trads., Paris, Les belles lettres, 1968. Manuscript: Biblioteca Riccardiana, Florencia, reg. 0070, sheet 005-217

De malorum subsistentia, in “Procli philosophi platonici opera inedita”, Cousin V., ed., Paris, Durand, 1894. Manuscript: Oxford Library, Oxford, catalog n° 28192

c. 438, Εἰς τὸν Πλάτωνος Τίμαιον (In Platonis Timaeum), in “Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus: In Platonis Timaeum commmentaria”, vol. I-III, Diehl E., ed., Leipzig, Teubner, 1903

᾽Εχ τῶν τοῦ Φιλοσόφου Πρόχλου Σχολίων εἰς τὸν Κράτυλον Πλάτωνος ᾽Εχλογαὶ Χρήσιμα (In Platonis Cratylum), in “Commentary on Plato’s Cratylus: In Platonis Cratylum commentaria”, Pasquali G., ed., Leipzig, Teubner, 1908

Εἰς τὸν Πλάτωνος Παρμενίδην (In Platonis Parmenidem), in “Procli philosophi platonici opera inedita”, Cousin V., ed., Paris, Durand, 1894 

De decem dubitationibus circa Providemtiam, in “Procli philosophi platonici opera inedita”, Cousin V., ed., Paris, Durand, 1894 

De Providentia et Fato et eo quod in nobis ad Theodorum Mechanicum, en “Procli philosophi platonici opera inedita”, Cousin V., ed., Paris, Durand, 1894 

Εἰς τὸν Πρῶτον ᾽Αλχιβιάδην (In Platonis Alcibiadem), in “Procli philosophi platonici opera inedita”, Cousin V., ed., Paris, Durand, 1894 

Εἰς τὰς Πολιτείας Πλάτωνος ῾Υπόμνημα (In Platonis Rempublicam), in “Commentary on Plato’s Republic: In Platonis rem publicam commentarii”, vol. I & II, Kroll W., ed., Leipzig, Teubner, 1899-1901

᾽Οκτωκαίδεκα ᾽Επιχειρήματα περὶ ᾽Αϊδιότητος τοῦ Κόσμου κατὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν (De aeternitate mundi), in “De aeternitate mundi contra Proclum”, Rabe, H., ed., Leipzig, Teubner, 1899 

Εἰς τὰς Πλωτίνου ᾽Εννεάδας, en “Mélanges desrousseaux”, Bidez J., ed., Paris, Hachette, 1937

Religious works
Περὶ τῆς καθ᾽ ῞Ελληνας ῾Ιερατικῆς Τέχνης (De sacrificio et magia), in “Catalougue des manuscrits alchemiques grecs”, vol. II, Bidez J., ed. & tr., Bruselas, Lamertin, 1928

᾽Εκ τῆς Χαλδαϊκῆς Φιλοσοφίας (De philosophia chaldaica), in “De philsophia chaldaica. Accedit hymnus in Deum platonicus, vulgo S. Gregorio Nazianzeno adscriptus, nunc Proclo Platonico vindicatus”, Jahn A., ed., Halle, 1891

Scientific works
Εἰς Πρῶτον Εὐκλείδου Στοιχείων Βίβλον (In primum Euclidis elementorum librum commentarii), in “A commentary on the First Book of Euclid’s Elements”, Morrow G., ed., Princeton, University Press, 1970

Στοιχείωσις Φυσική (Institutio physica), Ritzenfeld A., ed. & tr., Leipzig, Teubner, 1911

᾽Εξήγησις εἰς τὸ Πρῶτον (καὶ τὸ Δεύτερον) τῆς Νικομάχου ᾽Αριθμητικῆς Εἰσαγωγῆς (In Nicomachi Arithmeticam), Hoeche R., ed., Leipzig, Teubner, 1864

῾Υποτύπωσις τῶν ᾽Αστρονομικῶν ῾Υπροθέσεων (Hypotyposis astronomicarum positionum), Manitius, C., ed. & tr., Leipzig, Teubner, 1909

Οὐρανόδρομος (Uranodromus), in “Catalogus codicum astrologorum graecum”, Kroll W., ed., Bruselas, Lamertin, 1903

Παράφρασις εἰς τὴν τοῦ Πτολεμαίου Τετράβιβλον (Paraphrasis Ptolemaei Tetrabiblou), Allatius L., ed. & tr., Leiden, Elzevir, 1635

Σφαίρα (Sphaera), Bainbridge, ed. & tr., Oxford, 1620

Literary works
῞Υμνοι (Hymni), in “Procli philosophi platonici opera inedita”, Cousin V., ed., Paris, Durand, 1894

Εἰς Θεόν, en “De philsophia chaldaica. Accedit hymnus in Deum platonicus, vulgo S. Gregorio Nazianzeno adscriptus, nunc Proclo Platonico vindicatus”, Jahn A., ed., Halle, 1891

Χρηστομαθία Гραμματικά (Chrestomathia), in “Recherches sur la Chrestomathie de Proclus”, vol. LXXIX, Severys A., ed. & tr., París, Droz, 1938

Περὶ ᾽Επιστολιμαίου Χαρακτῆρος (Characteres epistolici), Westermann A., ed., Leipzig, Edelmann, 1856

Σχόλια εἰς τὴν ῾Ησιόδου ῎Εργα καὶ ῾Ημέραι (In Hesiodi Opera et dies), in “Poetae minores graeci”, vol. II, Gaisford T., ed., Leipzig, 1823 

Lost works
Πραγματεία Καθαρτικὴ τῶν Δογμάτων τοῦ Πλάτωνος 

Περὶ ᾽Αγωγῆς 

Commentary on the Phaedo

Commentary on the Phaedrus

Commentary on the Sophist

Commentary on the Theaetetus

Commentary on the Philebus

Εἰς τὴν ᾽Ορφέως Θεολογίαν 

Περὶ Συμφωνίαν ᾽Ορφέως, Πυθαγόρον, Πλάτωνος περὶ τὰ Λόγια 

Περὶ τῶν παρ᾽ ῾Ομήρῳ Θεῶν 

Μητρῳακὴ Βίβλος 

Συναγωγὴ τῶν πρὸς τὸν Τίμαιον Μαθηματικῶν Θεωρημάτων 

᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς ᾽Αριστοκλέα 

῾Υπόμνημα εἰς ῞Ολον τὸν ῞Ομηρον 

Renowned bibliography

Beierwaltes, W. (1979) “Proklos, Grundzüge seiner Metaphysik”, 2da ed., Frankfurt, Klostermann
Dodds, E. R. (1963) “Proclus. The Elements of Theology”, Oxford, Clarendon Press
Gersh, S. E. (1978) “From Iamblichus to Eriugena. An Investigation of the Prehistory and Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian Tradition”, Leiden, Brill
Lloyd, A. C. (1970) “Athenian and Alexandrian Neoplatonism”, in “The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy”, Armstrong A. H., ed., Cambridge, University
Press
Lloyd, A. C. (1990) “The Anatomy of Neoplatonism”, Oxford, Clarendon Press
Morrow, G. R. & Dillon, M. (1987) “Proclus' Commentary on Plato's Parmenides”, Princeton, University Press
Saffrey, H. D. (1990) “Recherches sur Ie néoplatonisme après Plotin”, Paris, Vrin
SaffreY, H. D. & Pépin, J., eds (1987) “Proclus: lecteur et interprète des anciens”, Paris, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

᾽Υπέρφωτός Γνόφος
Hyperluminous Darkness

This research explores, using the receptions methodology, Greek sources in Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite's metaphysics of light, from the myth present in the Platonic theology, Neoplatonism and the Christian resignification in Eastern patristic.

The goal is to present a traceability, through the analysis of intertexts, to the receptions of Plato and Neoplatonism, particularly Proclus, Damascius and Iamblichus and also the Cappadocians, with special emphasis on Gregory of Nyssa.

It also seeks to highlight those instances where the Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite intentionally departs from these legacies and brings an originality to his metaphysics of light.

Additionally, the application of Digital Humanities practices is used as support tools for the analysis of these corpora through natural language processing algorithms adjusted to the Greek of the period.

Mg. Gustavo Ángel Riesgo

He is the founder of the Chair of Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence at the Universidad del Norte Santo Tomás de Aquino and a part-time professor at the same institution, where he earned his degree in Philosophy and a Postgraduate Specialization in Medieval Thought. He has extensive prior training in Computer Science with a postdoctoral specialization in Artificial Intelligence and holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy with a focus on Natural and Cognitive Sciences from Universidad Austral, with the thesis: “Understanding or Calculating: Cognitive Aspects of Natural Language Processing.”

He has received academic enhancement scholarships from the Arché Foundation for Advanced Anthropological Studies (UCLA, USA); the Earhart Foundation (Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University, UK); and the John Templeton Foundation (Institute of Philosophy, Universidad Austral, Argentina). He is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Buenos Aires, working on his dissertation titled “Hyperluminous Darkness: Tradition, Sources, and Originality in the Metaphysics of Light of Dionysius the Areopagite.”

He directs the Areopagiticum Foundation, which is dedicated to the study of the Corpus Dionysiacum and its receptions through artificial intelligence tools, promoting its dissemination from a Digital Humanities perspective. He is also part of the postgraduate program at the Institute of Philosophy at Universidad Austral with his doctoral research project, “Natural Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence: Reality and Representation in Computational Mimesis.”

He has published translations, articles, and books on topics related to his areas of expertise.

Doctoral Candidate (DPhil), 
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires

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Thesis:
᾽Υπέρφωτός Γνόφος
Tradition, sources and originality in Pseudo Dionysious Areopagita’s metaphisics of Light.

Dr. Francisco Bastitta Harriet
Director

Dr. Francisco Bertelloni
Co-Director