THE HOMERIC TRADITION IN SYRIANUS by CHRISTINA - PANAGIOTA MANOLEA A thesis submitted to the University of London for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy London 2002 ProQuest Number: 10011208 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10011208 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 To the sacred memory of my father Aristotelis Manoleas TQmoôiajJiaxa cogaicov aXôycùv 0a jjie poiqGfiaouv N a TKü XT^v TiQoaeuxii (Jiou Tigiv va koi(it|0 6 ZxT]v \j/(x0a - ÔTicoç YGwf|0T]Ka - [xs Xiyeç mxaiXâÔeç 'HXiou axo [léxcüTio Kai xrjv agxoiio. Kagôiâ nou ^égei ôXov xov '0|XT|QO yi’ auxô Kai avxéxei aKO^Jtrj. Oôuacréaç EXOx'qç, M ikçôç NavziXoç Beautiful horses trotting will help me Say my prayer before I go to sleep In poverty - as I was born - with a few splashes of Sunlight on my front and the ancient heart That knows the whole of Homer and this is why it still keeps going. Odysseus Elytes, The little Nautilus ABSTRACT The thesis examines the way the philosopher Syrianus, the Head of the Neoplatonic School of Athens (432-437), used the Homeric tradition in his exegetical works. His extant works, namely the In Hermogenem, In Phaedrum and In Metaphysica, are in the form of commentary and cover both fields of rhetoric and philosophy. The first chapter of the thesis is divided into three sections. The first section deals with the Homeric tradition up to Syrianus. The second section deals with the works of Syrianus and related problems of authorship. The third section is a brief yet comprehensive account of Syrianus’ philosophical system. The second chapter focuses on the Homeric passages to be found in Syrianus’ In Hermogenem exegesis. The In Hermogenem is a commentary on the two major works of the orator Hermogenes, the De Ideis and the De Statibus. After the thorough examination of the use of all the Homeric passages and their characteristic exploitation in a work of rhetoric, the chapter concludes with a summary of its findings. The third chapter examines the Homeric tradition in the In Phaedrum commentary. Homer is exploited in many different ways, from the simple linguistic use we are familiar with in the rhetorical works of Syrianus, to the more sophisticated use to be found in passages that deal with psychology and metaphysics. Some examples of allegorical interpretation are also present in this exegesis. The chapter concludes with a summary of its findings. The fourth chapter deals with the use of the Homeric tradition in Syrianus’ In Metaphysica commentary. The use of Homer in this work is similar to that in the In Phaedrum, as stated in the concluding remarks of the chapter. The thesis ends with final conclusions and an exhaustive bibliography. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 7 a. Method .................................................................................................................................8 b. Contents ............................................................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER 1 1.1 The Homeric tradition up to Syrianus ........................................................................... 12 1.2 The works of Syrianus: the current state of research .....................................................22 1.3 Syrianus’ philosophical system ........................................................................................34 CHAPTER 2 2.1 About Syrianus’ commentaries on Hermogenes ............................................................ 39 2.2 Homeric passages in the In de Ideis ...............................................................................41 2.3 Homeric passages in the In de Statibus ..........................................................................57 2.4 Remarks on Chapter 2 .....................................................................................................75 CHAPTERS 3.1 Homeric passages in the In Phaedrum ..........................................................................78 3.2 Remarks on Chapter 3 .................................................................................................. 132 CHAPTER 4 4.1 Homeric passages in the In Metaphysica ......................................................................135 4.2 Remarks on Chapter 4 ..................................................................................................... 151 CONCLUSIONS.................................................................................................................154 NOTES.................................................................................................................................160 BIBLIOGRAPHY a. Primary sources ............................................................................................................... 203 b. Books and articles ........................................................................................................... 219 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would very much like to thank my supervisors Prof. Gerard J.P. O’ Daly and Prof. Patricia B. Easterling for their help, encouragement and wise remarks. I am deeply indebted especially to Prof. O’ Daly for his suggestions and constant guidance during my research, but also for his human support. I have also benefited from the appreciative comments I received from Prof. Richard Janko, Father Henri - Dominique Saffrey and Dr. R. Loredana CarduUo, who have read versions of my thesis. To the Librarians and Staff of the Library of the Societies for the promotion of Hellenic and Roman Studies (Institute of Classical Studies, London), University of London Library, Warburg Institute, British Library and Blegen Library (American School of Classical Studies, Athens), I express my gratitude. During my studies I was awarded a generous grant by the A.G. Leventis Foundation; the very least I can do is to thank the Administrative Board of the Foundation. My late father Aristotelis initiated me to the study and appreciation of Ancient Greece from my early years. Throughout my research, it was his financial support and encouragement that made this work flourish. His long-term illness and his death made me a more mature person, more competent to deal with oddities, wherever they come from. The research on this topic began upon the advice and benefited from the penetrating comments of my husband. Dr. Elias Tempelis. If it had not been for him, this work would have not reached its end. Last but not least, my friends Cleopatra Psarraki and Konstantinos Tsekouras have supported me throughout the course of this study. INTRODUCTION This thesis concentrates on how the pagan philosopher Syrianus, son of Philoxenus, treated the Homeric elements in his existing works, and aims to illuminate Syrianus’ attitude towards the Homeric tradition, which forms one aspect of Syrianus’ literary culture. Syrianus was the successor of Plutarch in the Neoplatonic Academy of Athens, where he taught philosophy and rhetoric between 432 and 437. After his death his beloved disciple Proclus was appointed as the head of the Academy at the age of twenty-five.^ The problem of the relation of Proclus’ philosophical ideas to Syrianus’ teaching and independent thought has been thoroughly and carefully dealt with by A D R. Sheppard.^ L.R. CarduUo^ has shown how Syrianus was initially referred to by scholars of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as a name only, if referred to at all, and how from the nineteenth century onwards he has gradually come to prominence, at first as the teacher of Proclus and, in our century, as a philosopher with some originahty in his thought. The main factor which led me to the examination of the Homeric passages in Syrianus’ extant works is that so far there has been no overall close analysis of Homeric passages in this Neoplatonic philosopher. Given the facts that Homer was prominent in the rhetorical and philosophical writings of late antiquity and that Syrianus has not attracted the attention of philologists, I think that Syrianus’ perception of Homer can give answers to wider issues of transmission and perception of Homer and also contribute to our better knowledge of Syrianus’ literary interests and background. Syrianus has hardly gained the place he deserves among the other Neoplatonists. A discussion of the importance and the originahty of his philosophical system is beyond the aims of this thesis; nevertheless, this work, by concentrating on how Syrianus treated Homer, could help to illuminate some aspects of his approach towards philosophical issues. a. Method What was Homer for Syrianus? Did Syrianus know him deeply and how is this shown by his use of Homeric quotations?