Archiadas

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Archiadas ( Greek  Ἀρχιάδας Archiádas ; † after 485) was a late ancient Greek philosopher . He belonged to the Neoplatonic school in Athens . There are no known writings by him.

Archiadas was a grandson of the Neoplatonist Plutarch of Athens , who had founded a Neoplatonic school of philosophy in Athens with which he wanted to tie in with the tradition of the Platonic Academy . When Plutarch died around 432, his pupil Syrianos took over the office of Scholarchen (headmaster). Before his death, Plutarch had asked Syrianos to take care of Archiadas and Proclus, who were both young. Proclus, who later became a famous philosopher, was close friends with Archiadas. Archiadas was probably a little younger than Proclus, as he later became his pupil and survived him.

After the death of Syrianos in 437 Proclus became a scholarch. He encouraged Archiadas to be active in politics and charity. Like all members of the Neoplatonic school of philosophy, Archiadas was a follower of the old religion, so he was in opposition to Christianity, which at that time was already the state religion.

Archiadas was married to a woman named Plutarche and had a daughter Asklepigeneia with her. Asklepigeneia married a wealthy, respected politician named Theagenes and had a son with him, the philosopher Hegias .

Archiadas lost most of his fortune through looting. It was either - as is usually assumed - the campaign of King Attila against the Eastern Roman Empire, on which the Huns invaded Greece in 447, or a raid by the Vandal fleet. According to an anecdote, Archiadas consoled Theagenes, who was still a child and who was worried about the loss, with the following consideration: If the goddess Athena had given them the order to use the now lost fortune for the organization of the festival of the Panathenaia , they would have gladly spent the money on it. But now the loss occurred in the course of a fight that was more glamorous and holier than all festive competitions. Therefore there is no cause for complaint. With the fight he meant the defense of the homeland against the invaders.

Because of his disposition, Archiadas' contemporaries used to call him the "very pious Archiadas".

When Proclus, who was unmarried and childless, died in April 485, he left Archiadas part of his property.

The sources that provide information about Archiadas are the biography of the Neo-Platonist Proclus , written by Marinos of Neapolis , and the Philosophical History (also called Vita Isidori ) of Damascius . Marinos and Damascios were contemporaries of Archiadas.

Source editions

  • Henri Dominique Saffrey, Alain-Philippe Segonds (eds.): Marinus: Proclus ou Sur le bonheur . Les Belles Lettres, Paris 2001, ISBN 2-251-00496-3 (critical edition of the Greek text with French translation and commentary)
  • Polymnia Athanassiadi (ed.): Damascius: The Philosophical History . Apamea Cultural Association, Athens 1999, ISBN 960-85325-2-3 (critical edition of the extracts and fragments with English translation)

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ Marinos of Neapolis, Vita Procli 12: 28-31.
  2. ^ Marinos of Neapolis, Vita Procli 17:27.
  3. ^ Marinos von Neapolis, Vita Procli 14.3-19.
  4. ^ John Robert Martindale: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire , Volume 2, Cambridge 1980, p. 134.
  5. ^ Henri Dominique Saffrey, Alain-Philippe Segonds (ed.): Marinus: Proclus ou Sur le bonheur , Paris 2001, p. 34 and p. 160f. Note 8–12; Richard Goulet: Théagénès d'Athènes. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume 6, Paris 2016, pp. 796–798.
  6. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History (= Vita Isidori ), Fragment 105A, ed. Polymnia Athanassiadi: Damascius, The Philosophical History , Athens 1999, p. 250f.
  7. ^ Marinos of Neapolis, Vita Procli 14: 22-27.
  8. ^ Henri Dominique Saffrey, Alain-Philippe Segonds (ed.): Marinus: Proclus ou Sur le bonheur , Paris 2001, p. 17 and p. 113, note 5.
personal data
SURNAME Archiadas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION late ancient Greek philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH 5th century
DATE OF DEATH after 485