Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Plato in Antiquity

Harold Tarrant, Ph.D. (1972), Durham University, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Newcastle Australia. He has published, as author, editor or translator, numerous articles and fourteen books relating to ancient Platonism, including Proclus: Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus, vols. I and VI (Cambridge).Danielle A. Layne, Ph.D (2009), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Gonzaga University, Spokane WA. She is the author of numerous articles on Plato and Neoplatonism and was the co-editor with Harold Tarrant of The Neoplatonic Socrates (Penn Press). Dirk Baltzly, Ph.D. (1994), Ohio State University, is Professor and Head of Philosophy & Gender Studies at the University of Tasmania. He has published extensively on ancient Platonism, including Proclus: Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus, vols. III-V. His current projects include Proclus’ Republic Commentary and the Phaedrus Commentary of Hermias. François Renaud, Ph.D. (1996), Universität Tübingen, is Professor of Philosophy at the Université de Moncton (Canada). He has published mostly on Plato and Platonic interpretation, including The Platonic Alcibiades I: The Dialogue and its Ancient Reception co-authored with Harold Tarrant. Contributors are: Crystal Addey, Sara Ahbel-Rappe, Francesca Alesse, Polymnia Athanassiadi, Dirk Baltzly, Mauro Bonazzi, Michael Chase, Dennis Clark, John Finamore, Ryan C. Fowler, Gary Gabor, Lloyd Gerson, Michael Griffin, Christina Hoenig, Phillip Sidney Horky, Danielle A. Layne, Carl S. O’Brien, Dominic J. O’Meara, Jan Opsomer, Federico M. Petrucci, Ilaria Ramelli, François Renaud, Julius Rocca, Geert Roskam, Charles Snyder, Harold Tarrant, John D. Turner, Gerd Van Riel, Sarah Klitenic Wear, Sami Yli-Karjanmaa.

"Viene ricostruito, in maniera sempre chiara e ben argomentata, non solo quanto e come i filosofi, in nove secoli di storia, si siano sentiti legati a Platone a tal punto da costruirne ognuno una immagine coerente col proprio sistema di pensiero, ma anche e soprattutto quanto articolata sia stata la creazione e la difesa di una auctoritas filosofica, scientifica, teologica e letteraria. Gli editori – nomi ben noti nel panorama dei pioneristici ma anche recenti studi sul Platonismo –, Harold Tarrant, Danielle A. Layne, Dirk Baltzly e François Renaud, hanno il merito di costruire attorno a un’idea un disegno narrativo unitario. (...) tutti i saggi, benché ognuno a suo modo, appaiono costituire in sé una unità testuale che non interrompe, ma anzi consolida l’unitaria finalità del volume. Da esso traspare come la lettura e l’interesse per Platone riescano a nutrire intellettuali di eccezionale erudizione che hanno mantenuto viva l’eredità scritta del grande filosofo facendosi suoi interlocutori sulla scena delle diverse epoche storiche." - Anna Motta, in: Elenchos 2018; 39(1): 171–178"(...) this collection covers a vast range of material in a solid, perspicuous and enlightening way, and has given me, at least, a much better grasp of the foundation of Platonism and the way Plato was read for nearly a millennium." - Øyvind Rabbås, in: The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 2019; 13: 87-90"Although the reception of Plato’s philosophy is discussed to various degrees in the standard handbooks and companions to Plato published in the last two decades, Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Plato in Antiquity is the first English-language publication to do so in a truly comprehensive and systematic manner. (...) The volume will certainly set a new standard for research on the reception of Plato in Antiquity, but it will hopefully also encourage scholars specializing on Plato to reconsider Plato’s thought in light of later Platonism." - Adrian Pirtea, in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2019.06.31"In jedem Falle trägt Brill's Companion damit den Bedürfnissen eines Publikums Rechnung, das eine erste Orientierung auf einem Gebiet sucht, das selbst unter Altertumswissenschaftlern nur wenigen vertraut ist. Doch auch ein Spezialist dürfte kaum mit allen Bereichen des antiken Platonismus so vertraut sein, dass er nicht etliche Artikel mit Gewinn lesen wird." - Christian Pietsch, in: H-Soz-Kult February 2019

• AcknowledgementsAbbreviationsNotes on ContributorsIntroductionPart I. Early Developments in ReceptionIntroduction: The Old Academy to Cicero1 Speusippus and Xenocrates on the Pursuit and Ends of PhilosophyPhillip Sidney Horky2 The Influence of the Platonic Dialogues on Stoic Ethics from Zeno to Panaetius of RhodesFrancesca Alesse3 Plato and the Freedom of the New AcademyCharles E. Snyder4 Return to Plato and Transition to Middle Platonism in CiceroFrançois RenaudPart II. Early Imperial Reception of PlatoIntroduction: Early Imperial Reception of Plato5 From Fringe Reading to Core Curriculum: Commentary, Introduction and Doctrinal SummaryHarold Tarrant6 Philo of AlexandriaSami Yli-Karjanmaa7 Plutarch of Chaeronea and the Anonymous Commentator on the TheaetetusMauro Bonazzi8 Theon of Smyrna: Re-thinking Platonic Mathematics in Middle PlatonismFederico M. Petrucci9 Cupid's Swan from the Academy (De Plat. 1.1, 183): Apuleius' Reception of PlatoGeert Roskam10 Alcinous' Reception of PlatoCarl S. O'Brien11 Numenius: Portrait of a PlatonicusPolymnia Athanassiadi12 Galen and Middle Platonism: The Case of the DemiurgeJulius Rocca13 Variations of Receptions of Plato during the Second SophisticRyan C. FowlerPart III. Early Christianity and Late Antique PlatonismIntroduction: Early Christianity and Late Antique Platonism14 Origen to EvagriusIlaria Ramelli15 Sethian Gnostic Appropriations of PlatoJohn D. Turner16 Plotinus and PlatonismLloyd P. Gerson17 PorphyryMichael Chase18 The Anonymous Commentary on the ParmenidesDennis Clark19 Iamblichus, the Commentary Tradition, and the SoulJohn Finamore20 Amelius and Theodore of AsineDirk Baltzly21 Plato's Political Dialogues in the Writings of Julian the EmperorDominic J. O'Meara22 Plato's Women ReadersCrystal Addey23 CalcidiusChristina Hoenig24 Augustine's PlatoGerd Van Riel25 Orthodoxy and Allegory: Syrianus' Metaphysical HermeneuticsSarah Klitenic Wear26 Hermias: On Plato's PhaedrusHarold Tarrant and Dirk Baltzly27 Proclus and the Authority of PlatoJan Opsomer28 Damascius the Platonic Successor: Socratic Activity and Philosophy in the 6th Century CESara Ahbel-Rappe29 The Anonymous Prolegomena to Platonic PhilosophyDanielle A. Layne30 Olympiodorus of AlexandriaMichael Griffin31 Simplicius of Cilicia: Plato's Last InterpreterGary GaborConclusionBibliographyGeneral IndexIndex Locorum