Asklepiodotos of Alexandria

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Asklepiodotos of Alexandria ( Greek  Ἀσκληπιόδοτος Asklēpiódotos ; † before 526) was a late ancient Greek philosopher of Egyptian origin. He belonged to the Neoplatonic school in Athens and was a pupil and friend of Proclus . His lifetime falls into the 5th and possibly the early 6th century. With his thirst for research and acumen and his exceptionally comprehensive education, especially high scientific competence, he earned a great reputation. An assessment from a modern point of view is not possible, as no details of his teaching have been passed down.

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The main source is the philosophical history of the Neoplatonist Damascius , also called Vita Isidori . Damascius was a younger contemporary of Asklepiodotus and knew him personally. Further news includes the biography of Patriarch Severus of Antioch , written by the church historian Zacharias Scholastikos (Zacharias Rhetor). Zacharias was also a younger contemporary of Asklepiodotus; as a Christian, he wrote about him from the perspective of a religious opponent.

It is possible that some of the information in the sources does not refer to Asklepiodotos of Alexandria, but to his father-in-law from Aphrodisias of the same name. But there is no conclusive evidence that the father-in-law was interested in philosophy at all.

Life

The approximate chronological classification results from Asklepiodotos' student relationship with Proklos, who died in 485. When Damascius wrote his Philosophical History between 517 and 526 , Asklepiodotos was no longer alive.

Asklepiodotos came from a modest family from Alexandria in Egypt. His father was possibly Antonios of Alexandria, whom Damascius praises. According to Damascius, Antonios was a simple, very religious man with an exemplary lifestyle, but without any special scientific or philosophical talent. This description is similar to Damascius 'statements about Asklepiodotos' father. In any case, the family was devoted to the old religion and was therefore in opposition to Christianity, which was the state religion in the Eastern Roman Empire at that time .

As a child, Asklepiodotus is said to have displayed acumen and an extraordinary thirst for knowledge. Early on, he dealt with natural history issues, especially botany and zoology, as well as material science and technical engineering. By diligently studying specialist literature and interviewing experts, he acquired knowledge in all areas of knowledge. The prominent doctor Jakobos, nicknamed Psychristos , introduced him to medicine. Later, Asklepiodotos is said to have surpassed this teacher in some respects; Damascios reports that he rediscovered the white Germer as a medicinal plant and used it with great success in ailments that are considered incurable. His thirst for research was also directed towards music, where he was particularly keen to understand the Enharmonics , and the acoustics of the human voice; he practiced imitating all animal voices and any noise.

Asklepiodotos came to Athens and studied there at the Neoplatonic philosophy school. Damascius reports that he was untalented for studying metaphysics and religious doctrines such as Orphic , but as a scientist he surpassed all of his contemporaries and also achieved excellent results in mathematics; with that he achieved great fame. He had a knack for raising difficult questions; but his ability to follow the statements of others was less pronounced. He always wanted to introduce innovations in the field of ethics . In doing so, as Damascios criticized, he took a reductionist approach and sought explanations only in the context of the realities of the sensually perceptible world. He lacked an understanding of the intelligible (only spiritually comprehensible) area. Therefore, his mind was not as perfect as was usually assumed. However, since Damascios and Zacharias also report that Asklepiodotos was engaged in magical and religious practices, the information about insufficient ability to think religiously and metaphysically should not be understood in the sense of a lack of interest in this topic.

Despite his alleged lack of ability to understand metaphysical doctrines, Asklepiodotos studied with the Neoplatonist Proklos , who headed the Neoplatonic school from 437 to 485 and was the leading metaphysician of his time. Proclus dedicated his commentary on Plato's dialogue Parmenides to him ; there he called him his best friend and praised his philosophical talent. Such a close relationship with a dedicated metaphysician like Proklos is difficult to reconcile with Damascius' assertion that Asklepiodotos was untalented in the field of metaphysics. Simplikios , a pupil of Damascius, claims that Asklepiodotos was Proclus' best pupil; Because of his extraordinary acumen he was inclined to innovate and deviated from Proclus' teaching, for example with regard to the understanding of time.

An anecdote shared by Damascius , according to which the young Asklepiodotos visited the scholar Domninos von Larisa , a pupil of the famous Neoplatonist Syrianos , also testifies to Asclepiodotus' idiosyncrasy and his spirit of contradiction . He is said to have contradicted Domninos so disrespectfully and emphatically in a disagreement about an arithmetic theorem that they no longer allowed him to attend his lessons. On the other hand, Damascius describes him as sociable; he was a pleasant conversationalist both in serious discussions and in cheerful conversations.

One of his students was Isidore , who was later elected Scholarchen (headmaster) and whose student Damascius was.

After finishing his work in Athens, Asklepiodotos first went to Syria, where he - as Damascius reports - "studied the behavior of the people". He later lived in the city of Aphrodisias in Caria , in southwest Asia Minor , where Damascius visited him. Excavations from 1981/82 have unearthed portraits there which suggest that the building complex in which they were erected was a meeting place for Neoplatonists. Roland RR Smith thinks that it could be a philosophical school run by Asklepiodotos.

Asklepiodotos married Damiane around 480, a daughter of Asklepiodotos of Aphrodisias, an influential local politician who was also in the favor of the emperor. Since the marriage remained childless for some time, the couple traveled to Egypt to seek the help of the goddess Isis . According to the hostile portrayal of the Christian Zacharias, these efforts were unsuccessful; the two are said to have bought a strange newborn baby in Egypt and passed it off as their child. The supposed miracle that an infertile woman had a child was then used by opponents of Christianity for religious propaganda. Damascius, on the other hand, writes that Damiane became pregnant thanks to divine help. He also mentions that Asklepiodotos left daughters when he died.

Works and teaching

No writings have survived from Asklepiodotos, and no details are known of his philosophical teachings. The 6th-century Neo-Platonist Olympiodorus , who describes him as a great philosopher, mentions a commentary he wrote on Plato's dialogue Timaeus . Damascius tells of hymns that Asklepiodotos composed.

Source editions and translations

  • 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)
  • Marc-Antoine Kugener (Ed.): Sévère, patriarche d'Antioche 512-518. Part 1: Vie de Sévère par Zacharie le Scholastique (= Patrologia Orientalis , Vol. 2,1). Brepols, Turnhout 1993 ( Syriac text and French translation; reprint of the Paris 1903 edition)

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ See the hypotheses in Richard Goulet: Asclépiodote d'Alexandrie . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 1, Paris 1989, pp. 626–631, here: 627f. and Polymnia Athanassiadi (eds.): Damascius: The Philosophical History , Athens 1999, p. 217, note 223 and p. 348-349; see. Bernadette Puech: Asclépiodote d'Aphrodisias . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 1, Paris 1989, pp. 631-632.
  2. ^ Concetta Luna and Alain-Philippe Segonds (eds.): Proclus: Commentaire sur le Parménide de Platon , Vol. 1, Part 1: Introduction générale , Paris 2007, p. XIX.
  3. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History 83A and 133 Athanassiadi; see Richard Goulet: Antonius d'Alexandrie . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 1, Paris 1989, p. 259. Polymnia Athanassiadi (ed.): Damascius: The Philosophical History , Athens 1999, p. 207, note 209 ; she believes that the "father" really means Asklepiodotus' father-in-law.
  4. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History 80 Athanassiadi.
  5. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History 85D Athanassiadi.
  6. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History 85B – C Athanassiadi. On the music research of Asklepiodotos see François Duysinx: Asclépiodote et le monocorde . In: L'Antiquité Classique 38, 1969, pp. 447-458.
  7. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History 85A Athanassiadi.
  8. ↑ Zacharias, Vita Severi pp. 16-18 Kugener; Damaskios, Philosophical History 81, 82A, 83A, 87B, 96B – E Athanassiadi.
  9. ^ Proklos, In Platonis Parmenidem 618: 16-20.
  10. ↑ Simplikios, In Aristotelis physica 795: 13ff.
  11. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History 90A – B Athanassiadi.
  12. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History 81 Athanassiadi. Isidore is not named there, but he is evidently mentioned.
  13. ^ Roland RR Smith: Late Roman Philosopher Portraits from Aphrodisias . In: The Journal of Roman Studies 80, 1990, pp. 127–155, here: 153–155; Roland RR Smith: Late Roman Philosophers . In: Roland RR Smith, Kenan T. Erim (eds.): Aphrodisias Papers , Vol. 2, Ann Arbor 1991, pp. 144-158, here: 157-158.
  14. ↑ On Damiane see Richard Goulet: Damianè d'Aphrodisias . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 2, Paris 1994, pp. 593-594.
  15. ^ Zacharias, Vita Severi pp. 17-20 Kugener. Cf. Udo Hartmann : Late Antique Philosophers. Women in the philosophers' lives from Porphyrios to Damascius. In: Robert Rollinger , Christoph Ulf (eds.): Women and Gender , Vienna 2006, pp. 43–79, here: 48.
  16. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History 83B and 95C – D Athanassiadi. Cf. Udo Hartmann: Late Antique Philosophers. Women in the philosophers' lives from Porphyrios to Damascius. In: Robert Rollinger, Christoph Ulf (eds.): Women and Gender , Vienna 2006, pp. 43–79, here: 47f.
  17. ↑ Olympiodoros, In Aristotelis meteora 321, 26-29. See Heinrich Dörrie , Matthias Baltes : The Platonism in the Antike , Vol. 3, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 1993, pp. 223-224.
  18. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History 87B Athanassiadi.
personal data
SURNAME Asklepiodotos of Alexandria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION late ancient Greek philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH 5th century
DATE OF DEATH before 526