Olympiodorus: Life of Plato and On Plato First Alcibiades 1–9: Life of Plato and On Plato First Alcibiades 1-9 (Ancient Commentators on Aristotle)

"Olympiodorus (AD c. 500-570), possibly the last non-Christian teacher of philosophy in Alexandria, delivered these lectures as an introduction to Plato with a biography. For us, they can serve as an accessible introduction to late Neoplatonism. Olympiodorus locates the First Alcibiades at the start of the curriculum on Plato, because it is about self-knowledge. His pupils are beginners, able to approach the hierarchy of philosophical virtues, like the aristocratic playboy Alcibiades. Alcibiades needs to know himself, at least as an individual with particular actions, before he can reach the virtues of mere civic interaction. As Olympiodorus addresses mainly Christian students, he tells them that the different words they use are often symbols of truths shared between their faiths."--Bloomsbury Publishing Olympiodorus (AD c. 500-570), possibly the last non-Christian teacher of philosophy in Alexandria, delivered these lectures as an introduction to Plato with a biography. For us, they can serve as an accessible introduction to late Neoplatonism. Olympiodorus locates the First Alcibiades at the start of the curriculum on Plato, because it is about self-knowledge. His pupils are beginners, able to approach the hierarchy of philosophical virtues, like the aristocratic playboy Alcibiades. Alcibiades needs to know himself, at least as an individual with particular actions, before he can reach the virtues of mere civic interaction. As Olympiodorus addresses mainly Christian students, he tells them that the different words they use are often symbols of truths shared between their faiths. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents Preface Conventions Abbreviations Introduction 1. Olympiodorus in his world 1.1. Overview 1.2. Olympiodorus and Christianity 2. Human excellence and the First Alcibiades in later Neoplatonism 2.1. The excellences ( aretai ) of the ideal philosopher 2.2. The role of the First Alcibiades in inculcating human excellence in later Neoplatonism 3. The ancient tradition on the First Alcibiades 3.1. Overview 3.2. The First Alcibiades : from natural gift s to civic responsibility 3.3. The First Alcibiades from the fourth century BC to Plotinus 3.4. Later Neoplatonist commentary 4. Proclus on the First Alcibiades 5. Olympiodorus on the First Alcibiades 5.1. Olympiodorus on the target, usefulness, position and division of the First Alcibiades 5.2. Olympiodorus’ interpretation: climbing the ladder 5.3. Olympiodorus on the individual ( to atomon ) 5.4. Olympiodorus on the Life of Plato 6. The text of Olympiodorus’ lectures: this volume 7. Conclusions Appendix: Testimonia to the First Alcibiades , ordered by century Textual Emendations Translation Life of Plato Lectures on the First Alcibiades Notes Bibliography English-Greek Glossary Greek-English Index Index of Passages Cited Index of Names and Places Subject Index This Open Access book looks at Olympiodorus (AD c . 500–570), possibly the last non-Christian teacher of philosophy in Alexandria, who delivered these lectures as an introduction to Plato with a biography. For us, they can serve as an accessible introduction to late Neoplatonism. Olympiodorus locates the First Alcibiades at the start of the curriculum on Plato, because it is about self-knowledge. His pupils are beginners, able to approach the hierarchy of philosophical virtues, like the aristocratic playboy Alcibiades. Alcibiades needs to know himself, at least as an individual with particular actions, before he can reach the virtues of mere civic interaction. As Olympiodorus addresses mainly Christian students, he tells them that the different words they use are often symbols of truths shared between their faiths. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The University of British Columbia. Olympiodorus (AD c. 500â€"570), possibly the last non-Christian teacher of philosophy in Alexandria, delivered these lectures as an introduction to Plato with a biography. For us, they can serve as an accessible introduction to late Neoplatonism. Olympiodorus locates the First Alcibiades at the start of the curriculum on Plato, because it is about self-knowledge. His pupils are beginners, able to approach the hierarchy of philosophical virtues, like the aristocratic playboy Alcibiades. Alcibiades needs to know himself, at least as an individual with particular actions, before he can reach the