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On Donkeys, Weasels and New-Born Babies, Or What Damaskios Learned from Plutarch

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chapter 9 On Donkeys, Weasels and New-Born Babies, or What Damaskios Learned from Plutarch Geert Roskam 1 Damaskios, the Last Link of the “Golden Chain” Although there is relatively little we know with absolute certainty about Damaskios’ life, at least the broad outlines of it can be reconstructed.1 He was born around 460 AD in Damascus in a wealthy family, and began to study rhet- oric at an early age in Alexandria, where he got in touch with the fine fleur of the intellectual circles. At that early moment already, he may have become ac- quainted with Plutarch’s works. In 491/492 AD, he gave up his rhetorical career and definitively turned to philosophy, influenced by his teacher Isidorus. We then find him back in Athens, where he studied philosophy with Zenodotus in Marinus’ Neoplatonic school. At that moment, Plato’s Academy had long been abandoned, and the new Neoplatonic school at Athens was situated in a rich house in the centre of the city, at the foot of the Acropolis. It was there that Damaskios was fully introduced to Plato’s philosophy, or better, to Proklos’ understanding of Plato’s philosophy. And in all likelihood, he could there again find copies of Plutarch’s writings in the private library of the school. Later, he probably returned together with Isidorus to Alexandria, where he followed the courses of Heliodorus and Ammonius. Meanwhile, the Neoplatonic school at Athens passed, after the death of Proklos and his suc- cessor Marinus, through a deep crisis. We lack detailed information about what was happening there, but if we may believe Damaskios, the situation was catastrophic: “we had never heard of philosophy being so despised in Athens as we saw it dishonoured in the time of Hegias”.2 In 515 at the latest, Damaskios was back in Athens, where he had become the new head of the Neoplatonic school. There, he began the difficult task of putting a stop to the decline of the school. He re-emphasised the importance of philosophical theoretical reflec- tion and pursued a new balance between philosophy and the hieratic, theurgic 1 The best discussion is Hoffmann (1994); cf. also Athanassiadi (1999: 19–57). 2 Life of Isidorus, E220 Zintzen = fr. 145A Ath.; the translations from the Life of Isidorus are borrowed from Athanassiadi (1999). © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/9789004409446_011 What Damaskios Learned from Plutarch 155 practices that had gradually overgrown the school (cf. In Phd. 1.172). And our evidence suggests that he actually succeeded in bringing about a remarkable revival of the school. Yet Damaskios’ success was not meant to last. In 529 AD, Justinian promul- gated his famous edict that forbade the teaching of philosophy (John Malalas, Chron. 18.47). The Neoplatonic school at Athens was forced to close,3 and when even its property risked being confiscated, Damaskios departed with six fellow Neoplatonists to the Persian king Chosroes. They were attracted by the good reputation of the Persian empire and its new king Chosroes, who was reported to be sincerely interested in philosophy. Moreover, by leaving the Christian Roman empire, the pagan philosophers could reasonably expect that they would be allowed to continue their teaching.4 Yet they soon became disap- pointed and already in 532 they left again. In a famous clause of the Pax per- petua between the Roman and Persian empire, it was stipulated that the seven philosophers should have the freedom to maintain their pagan convictions. The Neoplatonists returned, but we do not know where they went: Athens, Alexandria, or Harran have all been suggested, but there is no compelling evi- dence for any of them.5 Damaskios may well have returned to his hometown. This, at least, is sug- gested by the last testimony we have about the philosopher: a stele that was discovered in Emesa and that contains a funerary epigram for a slave woman Zosime. Fortunately enough, the epigram has also been preserved in the Anthologia Palatina (7, 553), where it is ascribed to Damaskios. This may indi- cate that the old philosopher indeed returned to his native country and that he there spent the last years of his life. With his death, the “Golden Chain” of distinguished Platonists that was supposed to go back to Plato himself was finally broken. 2 Damaskios’ Works and Thinking Damaskios is the author of a varied œuvre, the principal part of which con- sists of penetrating commentaries on Plato’s dialogues. His Commentaries on the Phaedo, the Philebus and the Parmenides are still extant, but we know 3 On these much discussed events, see esp. the seminal article of Cameron (1969); cf. also Blumenthal (1978) and Watts (2004). 4 A thorough discussion of the Persian journey of the seven philosophers can be found in Hartmann (2002). 5 See, e.g., Luna (2001) and Watts (2005)..
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