Olympiodorus: On Plato First Alcibiades 10-28

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Olympiodorus: On Plato First Alcibiades 10-28
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Michael Griffin
SeriesAncient Commentators on Aristotle
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:240
Category/GenreWestern philosophy - Ancient to c 500
Philosophy - metaphysics and ontology
Philosophy of religion
ISBN/Barcode 9781350052222
ClassificationsDewey:184
Audience
Tertiary Education (US: College)

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Publication Date 19 October 2017
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Olympiodorus (AD c. 500-570), possibly the last non-Christian teacher of philosophy in Alexandria, delivered 28 lectures as an introduction to Plato. This volume translates lectures 10-28, following from the first nine lectures and a biography of the philosopher published in translation in a companion volume, Olympiodorus: Life of Plato and On Plato First Alcibiades 1-9 (Bloomsbury, 2014). For us, these lectures can serve as an accessible introduction to late Neoplatonism. Olympiodorus locates the First Alcibiades at the start of the curriculum on Plato, because it is about self-knowledge. His pupils are beginners, able to approach the hierarchy of philosophical virtues, like the aristocratic playboy Alcibiades. Alcibiades needs to know himself, at least as an individual with particular actions, before he can reach the virtues of mere civic interaction. As Olympiodorus addresses mainly Christian students, he tells them that the different words they use are often symbols of truths shared between their faiths.

Author Biography

Olympiodorus (c. 500-570 CE) was one of the latest non-Christian teachers of pagan philosophy in Alexandria. Michael Griffin is Assistant Professor of Classics and Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Reviews

"[Michael Griffin] has taken on the thankless task of the translator with commendable enthusiasm, thoroughness and accuracy; the resulting volume is, like its predecessor, a labor of love ... G.'s translation, based on the second printing of Westerink's (1956) Greek text and supplemented with only a few emendations by G. himself or earlier editors such as Creuzer, is of the highest quality. It presents a readable and accurate rendering of Olympiodorus' Greek, while taking pains to approximate the lively, colloquial tone of Platonic dialogue wherever the Alcibiades is quoted in the commentary. * International Journal of the Platonic Tradition *