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Glossary Prepared by Crystal Addey Glossary Prepared by Crystal Addey Abhinavagupta 975–1025 AD. Born in Kashmir, he wrote encyclopedically on Kashmiri Shaivism, and on the philosophy of aesthetics. Like other philosophers, West and East, he practised what he wrote about, and is regarded as both scholar and saint by Shaivites. Abu Yazid Died 874. Sufi mystic who introduced the concept of fana, the passing away of the empirical self, a crucial and controversial theme in later Sufi mysticism. Achilles Greek mythological figure. The central character of Homer’s Iliad, where he is depicted as the greatest of the Greek heroes in the Trojan War. In mythology, he is the son of Peleus and Thetis. Aeon Greek: Aio¯n. This concept is of great importance in ancient Graeco-Roman reli- gion and philosophy, but has a wide variety of uses and meanings. Primarily, it means ‘life,’ ‘life-time’ but this meaning was extended to ‘long periods of time,’ i.e., ages. It could also denote eternity. In Orphism, Aeon was personified as a god, the son of Chronos, another important deity. Mithraic depictions of this deity influenced the conception of Aeon as supreme deity and led to its adop- tion as tutelary deity of Alexandria. In Gnostic speculation, Aeon underwent strange metamorphosis. In Hermetic literature, Aeon as the deuteros theos (‘sec- ond god’) creates the cosmos and Time (‘chronos’). Agamemnon A Greek mythological figure who is probably best known for his role in Homer’s Iliad as the King of Mycenae and commander-in-chief of the Greek expedition against Troy. In mythology, he is the son of Atreus, brother of Menelaus and husband of Clytemnestra. Alexander of Aphrodisias Late second/early third century AD. Commentator on Aristotle. He was appointed public teacher of Aristotelian philosophy at some time between 198 and 209 AD, 302 Glossary 303 probably (although not certainly) in Athens. He is referred to by later writers as ‘the commentator’ on Aristotle. Commentaries on various Aristotelian works survive; many others are extensively quoted by later writers. He also wrote short treatises on various subjects, which demonstrate his development of Aristotelian material. Al-Farabi, Abu nasr c.870–950 AD. Leading Islamic philosopher, thinker, logician, musician and major political scientist. He was known to the Arabs as the ‘second Master’ after Aristotle of Islamic philosophy. Deeply influenced by Neoplatonism, Al-Farabi was one of the first philosophers to transmit Aristotelian logic to the Islamic world; he has been called the ‘Father of Islamic Neoplatonism’. He wrote exten- sively on metaphysics and logic, and expanded Aristotle’s description of the intellect. He influenced major Islamic philosophers, such as Ibn Sina, but also major thinkers of Christian medieval Europe including Thomas Aquinas. Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid 1059–1111 AD. Islamic jurist, theologian and mystical thinker. Primarily a theo- logian, Al-Ghazali taught in Baghdad but later abandoned academic study for a life of contemplation. He spent the rest of his life engaged in writing, Sufi prac- tices and teaching his disciples. He valued the insight given by mystical com- prehension above that attained through logic or reason. Generally, Al-Ghazali attacks the range of knowledge claimed by philosophers, particularly through a critique of knowledge of causation. Al-Hallaj 854–922 AD. Sufi mystic. He was put to death for blasphemy, after seeming to assert identity with God. Allegory Allegorical interpretation of works of literature – above all the mythological poems of Homer and Hesiod – involved the ‘decoding’ of secret, hidden mean- ings ‘underneath,’ or implied by, the literal meaning. The works of Homer and Hesiod were decoded allegorically as accounts of the physical world or the truths of morality and cosmology as early as the sixth century BC. Stoic philosophers provided a detailed range of allegorical readings and techniques. Neopythagorean and Neoplatonic philosophers, from the second century AD onwards, produced strongly allegorical readings, presenting the Greek poets, particularly Homer, as the first and greatest philosophers (Numenius, fragments 30–32, Des Places; Por- phyry, Cave of the Nymphs; Proclus, Commentary on Plato’s Republic, 2, 3 and 10). Amelius Gentilianus Third century AD. Neoplatonist philosopher and the pupil of Plotinus from 246– 269 AD, and thus Porphyry’s fellow student. He was of Etruscan origin and briefly 304 Glossary studied with a Stoic philosopher named Lysimachus. He wrote extensively, mainly presenting and defending Plotinus’ philosophy. He was a great admirer of Numen- ius and indeed moved to Apamea, Numenius’ home town, in 269 AD, where he spent the rest of his life. Ammonius c. 434/45–517/26 AD. Neoplatonic philosopher and Head of the Neoplatonic school of Alexandria (from c. 470 AD onwards). He was the son of the Neo- platonist philosopher Hermeas and had been a student of Proclus. He himself taught Damascius, Olympiodorus, Simplicius, Philoponus and Asclepius. His output was fairly prolific and he is particularly well-known for his extensive commentaries on Aristotle. He seems to have argued for an even greater level of harmony between Plato and Aristotle than was commonly accepted even by most Neoplatonist philosophers. Ammonius Saccas Third century AD. Platonist philosopher, active in Alexandria in the first half of the third century AD. He is most famous as the teacher of Plotinus, who studied under him 232–242 AD, as well as of Origen the Christian, Origen the pagan, Longinus and others. According to Porphyry, he was brought up as a Christian but reverted to paganism as soon as he began to think for himself. An elusive figure, he wrote nothing, yet his legacy to Neoplatonism involves his instruc- tion and teaching of Plotinus for eleven years. Anaxagoras Probably c. 500–428 BC. Pre-socratic philosopher. A native of Clazomenae, he became the first philosopher known to have settled in Athens, where he was later prosecuted on a charge of impiety. Fragments of only one book of Anax- agoras’ survive, preserved in Simplicius’ writings. He was concerned with meta- physics, cosmology and epistemology. His doctrines include the fundamental homogeneity of reality and the idea that our differentiated cosmos was created by the action of mind, an entirely discrete principle, unmixed with any other substances but capable of ordering and controlling them. Anaximenes of Miletus Flourished c.546–525 BC. Pre-socratic philosopher. He followed Anaximander in composing a treatise in Ionian prose in which he developed a world system on the basis of an infinite or unlimited principle, which he identified as ae¯r (cosmic air). Antony, St. of Egypt c.251–356 AD. Christian hermit and Desert Father. In approximately 269 AD Antony gave away his possessions and devoted himself to a life of asceticism; Glossary 305 in c. 285 AD he retired completely into the desert. He attracted a number of dis- ciples and organized them into a community of hermits who lived under rule in approximately 305 AD. He later exercised his influence in support of the Nicene party in the Arian controversy, in which he was associated with Athanasius. Apollo Greek god of the sun, truth, healing and purification, prophecy and oracles, poetry and music, care for young citizens. One of the twelve Olympian deities, Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto and brother of Artemis. His main cult cen- tres, Delos and Delphi, are well-known. The Delphic oracle was sacred to Apollo; he was thought to deliver oracles to enquirers through the mouth of the Pythia, the prophetess of the shrine. One of his cult epithets was Musagetes, ‘Leader of the Muses’. He is also associated with philosophy. Aquinas, St. Thomas 1225–1274 AD. Italian philosopher-theologian, the most influential figure of the medieval period. He produced a powerful philosophical synthesis that com- bined Aristotelian and Neoplatonic concepts within a Christian context. His writings continue to exert an influence amongst Catholic theologians and some contemporary philosophers of ethics. Aristotle 384–322 BC. One of the most significant and influential Greek philosophers, Aristotle was born in Stagira and therefore is sometimes called the Stagirite. Aris- totle travelled to Athens at the age of seventeen and entered Plato’s Academy, where he remained until Plato’s death in 348/7 BC. Plato’s philosophical influ- ence is evident in all of Aristotle’s work. Aristotle also tutored Alexander the Great while in Macedon. In 335 BC, Aristotle established his own philosophi- cal school, the Lyceum. Aristotle is particularly well-known for his scientific writings and biological research. He also wrote works on logic and metaphys- ics, nature, life and mind, ethics, politics and art. Aristotle’s achievements have been fundamental to much of the subsequent history of western philosophy. Asclepius Fifth–sixth centuries AD. Alexandrian Neoplatonist philosopher. The student of Ammonius, who was Head of the Neoplatonic School at Alexandria. His extant works are commentaries on Aristotle. Athanasius Alexandrian rhetor, probably of the fourth century. He wrote a commentary on Hermogenes’ On Issues; an epitome of the prolegomena survives, along with a few fragments. We also have a few fragments from his commentaries on speeches by Demosthenes and Aelius Aristides. 306 Glossary c.297–373 AD. Early Christian Church Father, bishop in Alexandria and a lead- ing protagonist in the fourth-century disputes concerning Christ’s relationship to God (the Arian controversy). He made leading contributions to the doctrine of the Incarnation and the Trinity. Augustine, St (Aurelius Augustinus) 354–430 AD. Christian Church Father, writer and apologist, Latin philoso- pher. Augustine was born in Thagaste (modern Souk Ahras, Algeria). He taught rhetoric at Thagaste, Carthage and Rome. He was an adherent of Manicheism, a Gnostic sect promising Wisdom but then underwent a life-changing conver- sion, in 386, to Christianity, under the patronage of Ambrose, bishop of Milan.
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