Pericles of Lydia
Pericles of Lydia ( Greek Περικλῆς ὁ Λυδός Periklḗs ho Lydós ) was a late antique philosopher of the Neoplatonic direction. He lived in the 5th century.
Little is known about the life of Pericles, who came from the Lydian countryside in western Asia Minor . He lived in Athens and was a member of the local Neoplatonic school of philosophy, which continued the tradition of the Platonic Academy . The school was then headed by the famous philosopher Proclus , who was a close friend of Pericles and dedicated his work “Platonic Theology” to him. Marinos von Neapolis , a pupil of Proclus and his successor as Scholarch (headmaster), mentions the "great Pericles from Lydia" respectfully in his teacher's biography. Like the other Neoplatonists in Athens, Pericles was one of the followers of the ancient Greek religion and was thus in opposition to Christianity, which was already the state religion at that time.
In his commentary on Plato's dialogue Parmenides , Proclus cites Pericles' opinion on the interpretation of a difficult passage from Parmenides . The Neoplatonist Simplikios refers in his commentary on the physics of Aristotle to Pericles' understanding of primordial matter. According to Simplikios' report, Pericles thought that his equating the original hyle with the unqualified body corresponded to both the position of Plato and that of Aristotle. Otherwise nothing has come down to us about the teachings of Pericles.
literature
- Henri Dominique Saffrey, Alain-Philippe Segonds : Périclès de Lydie. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Volume 5, part 1, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-271-07335-8 , p. 230 f.
Remarks
- ^ Marinos of Neapolis, Vita Procli 29: 16-19.
- ^ Proclus, In Platonis Parmenidem 872.
- ↑ Simplikios, In Aristotelis physica 227: 23-26.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pericles of Lydia |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | late antique philosopher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th century or 5th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th century or 6th century |