Stephen of Alexandria

Stephen of Alexandria (Latin Stephanus Alexandrinus ) was a Greek philosopher . His activity falls into the late 6th and early 7th centuries.

Life

Stephanos was educated in the Neo-Platonic oriented philosophical school of Alexandria , but his interest was apparently less the Platonism as the works of Aristotle and natural history themes. Possibly he studied with the Neoplatonist Elias , who was a pupil of Olympiodorus the Younger . Presumably he worked as a philosophy teacher in Alexandria after completing his training.

The Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius took power soon after its acquisition (610) the apparently renowned philosophers Konstantin Opel where Stephanos as "World Teacher" (oikoumenikós didáskalos) should give lessons. Stephanos also gave lectures to the emperor and dedicated a short version of the astronomical work of Theon of Alexandria to him . His work in Constantinople - and the associated conveying of philosophical content from the Alexandrian school - testifies to the late cultural bloom that Ostrom experienced once again during the reign of Herakleios, before the empire fell into a serious crisis after the start of the Arab expansion .

The equation of the philosopher Stephanos of Alexandria with the physician Stephanos of Athens , who is also referred to as a philosopher in the manuscripts of his works, is represented by Wanda Wolska-Conus, although it is considered as a possibility in recent research, but is sometimes viewed with skepticism.

Works and teaching

Stephanos wrote commentaries on various works by Aristotle, including one on De interpretatione and one on the third book by De anima (both preserved in full); further Aristotle commentaries are lost today. When interpreting Aristotle, he did not consistently adopt the harmonization of the Aristotelian teachings with the Platonic doctrines, popular with the Alexandrian Neoplatonists, but noted differences between them and preferred Aristotle. However, in his considerations on the Aristotelian theory of the soul, the influence of the Neoplatonic way of thinking is also noticeable. He was undoubtedly a Christian, but in his Aristotle commentary he did not address the contradictions between the Christian and the Aristotelian worldview, but presented the views of Aristotle, which contradict the Christian ones, as such, without taking a position on them himself.

Stephanos also wrote astronomical treatises and a work on alchemy.

Wanda Wolska-Conus identifies Stephanos of Alexandria with the so-called "Pseudo-Elias", the unknown author of a commentary on the isagogue of Porphyry . This commentary is preceded by only fragmentarily preserved prolegomena on philosophy and an introduction to the isagogue ; the first seven of a total of 23 lessons (práxeis) of the prolegomena on philosophy are missing.

Text output

• Michael Hayduck (ed.): Stephani in librum Aristotelis de interpretatione commentarium (= Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca vol. 18 part 3). Georg Reimer, Berlin 1885 (critical edition)
• Michael Hayduck (Ed.): Ioannis Philoponi in Aristotelis de anima libros commentaria (= Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca Vol. 15). Georg Reimer, Berlin 1897 (critical edition; contains, pp. 446–607, Stephanos' commentary on the third book by De anima , which at that time was still incorrectly attributed to Johannes Philoponos)

literature

Overview representations in manuals

• Matteo Martelli: Stéphanos. Alchimiste et astronome / astrologue. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Volume 6, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2016, ISBN 978-2-271-08989-2 , pp. 557-563 (on the alchemical, astronomical and astrological writings and their author)
• Denis Searby: Stéphanos d'Alexandrie. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Volume 6, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2016, ISBN 978-2-271-08989-2 , pp. 563-579
• Christian Tornau : Stephanos. In: Christoph Riedweg et al. (Ed.): Philosophy of the Imperial Era and Late Antiquity (= Outline of the history of philosophy . The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 5/3). Schwabe, Basel 2018, ISBN 978-3-7965-3700-4 , pp. 2097-2107, 2185-2188
• Adolf Lumpe:  Stephanos of Alexandria. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 10, Bautz, Herzberg 1995, ISBN 3-88309-062-X , Sp. 1406-1409.

Investigations

• Henry J. Blumenthal : John Philoponus and Stephanus of Alexandria: Two Neoplatonic Christian Commentators of Aristotle? In: Dominic J. O'Meara (Ed.): Neopatonism and Christian Thought . State University of New York Press, Albany 1982, pp. 54-63
• Leendert Gerrit Westerink , Jean Trouillard (Ed.): Prolégomènes à la philosophie de Platon . Les Belles Lettres, Paris 1990, ISBN 2-251-00412-2 , pp. XXXIX − XLII
• Rudolf Werner Soukup: Nature, you heavenly! The alchemical treatises of Stephen of Alexandria. A Study of 7th Century Alchemy. In: Communications of the Austrian Society for the History of Natural Sciences 12, 1992, pp. 1–93 ( online ; PDF; 96.4 MB)

Remarks

1. ^ Wanda Wolska-Conus: Stéphanos d'Athènes et Stéphanos d'Alexandrie. Essai d'identification et de biography . In: Revue des Études byzantines 47, 1989, pp. 5-89.
2. ↑ See Véronique Boudon-Millot : Stéphanos d'Athènes. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 6, Paris 2016, pp. 579–588, here: 581–583.
3. ^ Henry Blumenthal: John Philoponus and Stephanus of Alexandria: Two Neoplatonic Christian Commentators of Aristotle? In: Dominic J. O'Meara (Ed.): Neopatonism and Christian Thought , Albany 1982, pp. 54-63, here: 56f.
4. ↑ This commentary is edited by Leendert Gerrit Westerink: Pseudo-Elias (Pseudo-David): Lectures on Porphyry's Isagoge , Amsterdam 1967. Stephanos Pascal Mueller-Jourdan, cautiously approves of the identification of the pseudo-Elias: Une initiation à la Philosophie de l'Antiquité tardive: Les leçons du Pseudo-Elias , Friborg 2007, p. XXVf.