Olympiodorus: On Plato First Alcibiades 1028

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Olympiodorus (AD c. 500570), possibly the last non-Christian teacher of philosophy in Alexandria, delivered 28 lectures as an introduction to Plato. This volume translates lectures 1028, 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 19 (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.

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 Westerinks (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 *

Author Bio

Olympiodorus (c. 500570 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.