Hegias (philosopher)

Hegias ( Greek  Ἡγίας Hēgías ) was a Greek philosopher of the late 5th and early 6th centuries. He belonged to the Neoplatonic direction. Since he came from Athens and lived there, he is sometimes called Hegias of Athens , which can lead to confusion with the famous sculptor Hegias , who was also active in Athens.

Origin and life

Hegias came from a distinguished family in Athens; he was considered a descendant of Plato and thus also of the famous lawgiver Solon . His father Theagenes, who was very wealthy, made a name for himself as a benefactor of both the needy and the cities; Among other things, he financially supported educational efforts and Neoplatonic philosophy lessons. Theagenes was active in politics, he held the office of archon in Athens and belonged to the Senate of Constantinople . Hegias' mother Asklepigeneia was a daughter of the Neo-Platonist Archiadas .

It is believed that Hegias was born in the late sixties of the 5th century. He grew up in Athens in the milieu of the local Neoplatonists who belonged to the philosophy school founded by Plutarch of Athens in the 5th century . The school, which was conceived as a successor organization to the Platonic Academy , was directed until 485 by the famous philosopher Proklos , whose pupil Hegias was as a teenager. Proclus introduced Hegias not only to mathematical propaedeutics and the writings of Plato, but also to the Chaldean oracles , which was noted as a special feature because of the pupil's youth.

The Neo-Platonists around Proclus were staunch opponents of Christianity, which was already the state religion at that time, and placed great emphasis on maintaining the old religious traditions. Hegias devoted himself to this concern with particular emphasis. In particular, he was active in the field of theurgy , the practices with which the Neoplatonists came into contact with gods who wanted to obtain their help and practice their own deification. He was so zealous that Isidore , one of Proclus' most prominent students, admonished him not to neglect philosophy; Whoever wants to conform to the deity by means of theurgy should first - as Plato demanded - become a good philosopher.

Hegias left no writings. He had two sons, Eupeithios and Archiadas. The Neo-Platonist Damascius reports that Archiadas surpassed his father in virtue and led a "holy life", but received no philosophical training.

Contemporary reception

The judgments of the contemporaries turned out to be mixed. Marinos von Neapolis , the successor of Proklos as headmaster, writes enthusiastically in his Proklos biography about Hegias, who had already distinguished himself as a boy through all the virtues of his ancestors and who delighted Proklos with his abilities. Damascius expresses himself similarly. In his biography of Isidore, he reports that the young Hegias raised great hopes with his unusual talent; one had expected that he would achieve almost as important as the school founder Plutarch of Athens. Hegias had surpassed his father Theagenes in virtue and eloquence and, like Theagenes, had distinguished himself through generosity. Damascius, however, severely limits this praise, since he also claims that Hegias got into bad company and was seduced by flatterers who were attracted by his wealth. They had dissuaded him from right philosophizing, so that he was even temporarily inaccessible to reasonable considerations. In addition, in his zeal for the old religion, he had rashly gone too far and thereby created dangerous enemies. Opponents of Hegias had an eye on his fortune and malicious action was taken against him. By this Damascius means that the carefree approach of Hegias in the practice of religion provoked the Christians and that in view of the religious legislation of that time he was open to attack.

Damascius claims that philosophy has never been so discredited in Athens as it was when it was despised “in the time of Hegias”. The exact meaning of this statement is unclear; it is interpreted differently in research. It has been assumed that Hegias was the headmaster ( scholarch ) for some time and did not prove himself in this office. This is unlikely, however, as no source reports a Scholarchate of Hegias. Damascius' remark probably refers to the neglect of Platonic philosophy in favor of a problematic theurgy, with which Hegias damaged the reputation of the school from the point of view of his critics. Theurgy as such was valued by the Neoplatonists, but Hegias' approach evidently offended.

literature

• Henri Dominique Saffrey: Hégias d'Athènes . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques . Volume 3, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-271-05748-5 , pp. 530-531
• John Robert Martindale: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire , Vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1980, ISBN 0-521-20159-4 , pp. 528-529

Remarks

1. ^ Henri Dominique Saffrey and Alain-Philippe Segonds (eds.): Marinus: Proclus ou Sur le bonheur , Paris 2001, p. 149.
2. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History (= Vita Isidori ), Fragment 150, ed. Polymnia Athanassiadi : Damascius, The Philosophical History , Athens 1999, p. 326f. (Greek text and English translation).
3. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History (= Vita Isidori ), Fragment 146A, ed. Polymnia Athanassiadi: Damascius, The Philosophical History , Athens 1999, p. 320f. (Greek text and English translation).
4. ^ Marinos, Vita Procli 26.
5. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History (= Vita Isidori ), Fragment 145B, ed. Polymnia Athanassiadi: Damascius, The Philosophical History , Athens 1999, p. 318f. (Greek text and English translation).
6. ↑ Damaskios, Philosophical History (= Vita Isidori ), Fragment 145A, ed. Polymnia Athanassiadi: Damascius, The Philosophical History , Athens 1999, p. 318f. (Greek text and English translation).