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The Cambridge History of Philosophy in Late Antiquity

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THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY IN LATE ANTIQUITY The Cambridge History of Philosophy in Late Antiquity comprises over forty specially commissioned essays by experts on the philosophy of the period 200–800 ce. Designed as a successor to The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy (ed. A. H. Armstrong), it takes into account some forty years of schol- arship since the publication of that volume. The contributors examine philosophy as it entered literature, science and religion, and offer new and extensive assess- ments of philosophers who until recently have been mostly ignored. The volume also includes a complete digest of all philosophical works known to have been written during this period. It will be an invaluable resource for all those interested in this rich and still emerging field. lloyd p. gerson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. He is the author of numerous books including Ancient Epistemology (Cambridge, 2009), Aristotle and Other Platonists (2005)andKnowing Persons: A Study in Plato (2004), as well as the editor of The Cambridge Companion to Plotinus (1996). The Cambridge History of Philosophy in Late Antiquity Volume I edited by LLOYD P. GERSON cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao˜ Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 8ru,UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521876421 C Cambridge University Press 2010 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2010 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Volume I isbn 978-0-521-76440-7 Hardback Available only as a set isbn 978-0-521-876421 Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. CONTENTS VOLUME I List of contributors page ix List of maps xiii General introduction 1 lloyd p. gerson I Philosophy in the later Roman Empire Introduction to Part I 11 1 The late Roman Empire from the Antonines to Constantine 13 elizabeth depalma digeser 2 The transmission of ancient wisdom: texts, doxographies, libraries 25 gabor´ betegh 3 Cicero and the New Academy 39 carlos levy´ 4 Platonism before Plotinus 63 harold tarrant 5 The Second Sophistic 100 ryan fowler 6 Numenius of Apamea 115 mark edwards 7 Stoicism 126 brad inwood v vi Contents 8 Peripatetics 140 robert w. sharples 9 The Chaldaean Oracles 161 john f. finamore and sarah iles johnston 10 Gnosticism 174 edward moore and john d. turner 11 Ptolemy 197 jacqueline feke and alexander jones 12 Galen 210 r. j. hankinson II The first encounter of Judaism and Christianity with ancient Greek philosophy Introduction to Part II 233 13 Philo of Alexandria 235 david winston 14 Justin Martyr 258 denis minns 15 Clement of Alexandria 270 catherine osborne 16 Origen 283 emanuela prinzivalli III Plotinus and the new Platonism Introduction to Part III 299 17 Plotinus 301 dominic j. o’meara 18 Porphyry and his school 325 andrew smith 19 Iamblichus of Chalcis and his school 358 john dillon Contents vii IV Philosophy in the age of Constantine Introduction to Part IV 375 20 Philosophy in a Christian empire: from the great persecution to Theodosius I 376 elizabeth depalma digeser 21 Themistius 397 inna kupreeva 22 The Alexandrian school. Theon of Alexandria and Hypatia 417 alain bernard 23 Hierocles of Alexandria 437 hermann schibli V The second encounter of Christianity with ancient Greek philosophy Introduction to Part V 457 24 Basil of Caesarea 459 lewis ayres and andrew radde-gallwitz 25 Gregory of Nyssa 471 anthony meredith 26 Gregory of Nazianzus 482 john a. mcguckin 27 Calcidius 498 gretchen reydams-schils 28 Nemesius of Emesa 509 beatrice motta 29 Synesius of Cyrene 520 jay bregman 30 Marius Victorinus 538 stephen a. cooper 31 Augustine 552 giovanni catapano CONTRIBUTORS Lewis Ayres Cristina D’Ancona Bede Chair of Catholic Theology Department of Philosophy Durham University University of Pisa Han Baltussen FransA.J.deHaas Classics, School of Humanities Institute of Philosophy University of Adelaide University of Leiden Alain Bernard Elizabeth DePalma Digeser Universite´ de Paris XII – IUFM de Department of History Creteil´ University of California, Santa Gabor´ Betegh Barbara Department of Philosophy John Dillon Central European University School of Classics David Blank Trinity College Dublin Department of Classics Mark Edwards University of California, Los Angeles Faculty of Theology David Bradshaw University of Oxford Department of Philosophy Jacqueline Feke University of Kentucky Introduction to the Humanities Jay Bregman Program Department of History Stanford University University of Maine John F. Finamore Giovanni Catapano Department of Classics Department of Philosophy University of Iowa University of Padua Ryan Fowler Stephen Cooper Departments of Classics and Department of Religious Studies Philosophy Franklin and Marshall College Knox College ix x List of contributors Stephen Gersh Angela Longo Medieval Institute Department of Philosophy University of Notre Dame University of Geneva Lloyd P. Gerson John Magee Department of Philosophy Department of Classics and Centre University of Toronto for Medieval Studies University of Toronto Way ne H ankey Department of Classics John A. McGuckin Dalhousie University Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University R. J. Hankinson Department of Philosophy Anthony Meredith University of Texas at Austin Heythrop College, University of London Katerina Ierodiakonou Department of Philosophy and Denis Minns History of Science Faculty of Theology University of Athens University of Oxford Brad Inwood Edward Moore Departments of Classics and St Elias School of Orthodox Philosophy Theology University of Toronto Beatrice Motta Sarah Iles Johnston University of Padua Department of Greek and Latin Dominic O’Meara Ohio State University Department of Philosophy Alexander Jones University of Fribourg Institute for the Study of the Ancient Jan Opsomer World Department of Philosophy New York University University of Koln¨ Inna Kupreeva Catherine Osborne Department of Philosophy School of Philosophy University of Edinburgh University of East Anglia Carlos Levy´ Eric Perl Universite´ de Paris XII – Val de Department of Philosophy Marne Loyola Marymount University List of contributors xi Emanuela Prinzivalli Carlos Steel Dipartimento di studi Institute of Philosophy storico-religiosi University of Leuven Sapienza University of Rome Harold Tarrant Andrew Radde-Gallwitz School of Humanities and Social Department of Theology Science Loyola University of Chicago University of Newcastle Gretchen Reydams-Schils John D. Turner Program of Liberal Studies Department of Classics and Religious University of Notre Dame Studies Gerd Van Riel University of Nebraska Institute of Philosophy University of Leuven Koenraad Verrycken Department of Philosophy Hermann Schibli University of Antwerp Department of Classics University of Passau David Winston Robert W. Sharples Center for Jewish Studies Department of Greek and Latin Graduate Theological Union University College London University of California, Berkeley Andrew Smith George Zografidis Department of Classics Department of Philosophy University College Dublin Aristotle University of Thessaloniki MAPS 1 The Byzantine Empire, c. 500 page xiv 2 The Roman world of the fifth and sixth centuries xvi xiii Sirmium Belgrade Cherson Tomi Adrianople Constantinople Thessalonica Trebizond Nicomedia Nicaea Theodosiopolis Ankyra Sebasteia Sardis Melitene Caesarea Martyropolis Athens Smyrna Philadelphia Corinth Ephesus Amida Germanikeia Dara Miletus Aphrodisias Samosata Anazarbos Edessa Halicarnassus Nisibis Mopsuestia Tarsus Carrhae Seleucea Aleppo Antioch Anemurion Chalcis Latakia Apamea Constantia (Salamis) Emesa Tripoli Beirut Damascus Tyre Ptolemais Scythopolis Bostra Caesarea Maritima Gerasa Jerusalem Alexandria Gaza Pelusium Petra Memphis Nile 100 200 300 500 km 0 400 Oxyrhynchus 0 100 200 300 miles Map 1 The Byzantine Empire, c. 500 Map 2 The Roman world of the fifth and sixth centuries GENERAL INTRODUCTION lloyd p. gerson 1 The present work is a successor to The Cambridge History of Late Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy (CHLGEMP) which appeared in 1967 under the editorship of A. H. Armstrong. Since the publication of that work, an enormous amount of fundamental philological and historical scholarship pertaining to the philosoph- ical works of late antiquity has appeared. New critical editions, commentaries and translations of important philosophical texts have made this vast complex of material more accessible to historians, who in turn have made considerable advances in the understanding of the last phase of ancient philosophy. Although this more than forty years of labour seems justification enough for a new survey of the period, it should not be supposed that all or even most of the assess- ments made in the earlier work have been summarily invalidated. Hence, the sense in which
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