Castricius Firmus

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Castricius Firmus was a Roman philosopher . He lived in the 3rd century and was a member of the Neoplatonic school of philosophy in Rome, which was directed by Plotinus .

Castricius was a classmate of Porphyrius in the school of Plotinus , from whom all the information that is certain to relate to him comes. Presumably he is to be equated with the Firmus mentioned by the late antique Neo-Platonist Damascius as the author of a commentary on Plato's dialogue Parmenides . As Damascius reports, this comment was consulted in the Neoplatonic school of philosophy in Athens in the late 5th century when Marinos of Neapolis was the school principal ( scholarch ) there. Marinos valued the work, but Damascius thought little of the Firmus' interpretation of Parmenides .

As Porphyrios reports in his biography of Plotinus, Castricius was exceptionally cultured and wealthy in the vicinity of Minturnae . He adored Plotinus and gave him material support. He had a close friendship with Porphyry. He was an avid collaborator of Amelios Gentilianos , who was one of the leading figures in Plotin's school. When Plotinus died in Campania in 270 , Castricius was in Rome. Porphyrios dedicated his treatise "On abstaining from the animated" to him, in which he advocated vegetarianism . Castricius had turned away from this diet, which he resented Porphyrios.

Research has suggested that Castricius could be identical to the wealthy merchant Firmus , a friend of Zenobia , the ruler of Palmyra , who opposed the emperor Aurelian . According to the Historia Augusta , Firmus organized a rebellion against Aurelian in Egypt and was executed on the orders of the emperor after the revolt was put down. The identity hypothesis is speculative, however, and it is doubtful whether the alleged rebel Firmus is even a historical figure.

literature

  • Luc Brisson : Firmus Castricius . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques . Volume 3, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-271-05748-5 , p. 425
  • Luc Brisson: Notices sur les noms propres . In: Luc Brisson u. a .: Porphyre, La Vie de Plotin . Volume 1, Vrin, Paris 1982, ISBN 2-7116-2035-2 , pp. 49-142, here: 89-90

Remarks

  1. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History (= Vita Isidori ) 97I, ed. Polymnia Athanassiadi : Damascius: The Philosophical History , Athens 1999, p. 239 and note 258.
  2. ↑ On the identity hypothesis, see Luc Brisson u. a .: Porphyre, La Vie de Plotin , Volume 2, Paris 1992, pp. 233f. Cf. Polymnia Athanassiadi (ed.): Damascius: The Philosophical History , Athens 1999, p. 239, note 258.
personal data
SURNAME Castricius Firmus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION ancient Roman philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century
DATE OF DEATH 3rd century or 4th century