Damascius (; ; 462 This work is, moreover, of great importance for the history of philosophy, because of the great number of accounts which it contains concerning former philosophers.

The rest of Damascius' writings are for the most part commentaries on works of Aristotle and Plato. Surviving commentaries include:

  • Commentary on Plato's Parmenides.
  • Commentary on Plato's Phaedo. This work has been erroneously ascribed to Olympiodorus of Alexandria.
  • Commentary on Plato's Philebus. Also erroneously ascribed to Olympiodorus. are perhaps parts of his commentaries on Aristotle's writings.
  • Life of Isidore. Damascius's biography of his teacher Isidore (perhaps a part of the Philosophos Historia attributed to Damascius by the Suda), of which Photius preserved a considerable fragment. It is considered the source containing most details about the life of Ammonius Hermiae, and is also a primary source for the life of Hypatia. Incorporating material from both the Suda and Photius, a reconstructed text was translated into English by Polymnia Athanassiadi and published in 1999 as Damascius. The Philosophical History.
  • Logoi Paradoxoi, in four books, of which Photius gives an account and specifies the respective titles of the books.

Damascius and the Corpus Dionysiacum

Starting from an article published in 2006, Byzantine philologist Carlo Maria Mazzucchi has argued that Damascius was the author of the Pseudo-Dionysian corpus, the "last counter-offensive of Paganism" (l'ultima controffensiva del paganesimo). Mazzucchi's theory, which faced some criticism, was later improved with more arguments.

See also

  • Ammonius Saccas
  • Azone
  • Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism
  • Iamblichus
  • Olympiodorus the Younger
  • Plotinus
  • Theodora of Emesa

References

Sources

  • Sara Ahbel-Rappe, Scepticism in the sixth century? Damascius' 'Doubts and Solutions Concerning First Principles,' Journal of the History of Philosophy 36 (1998), pp. 337–363.
  • Damascio Intorno ai principi primi - Aporie e soluzioni, Translated by Ottobrini, Tiziano F., Brescia: Editrice Morcelliana, 2022.
  • Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles (in English and Ancient Greek). Translated by Ahbel-Rappe, Sara. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2010.
  • Polymnia Athanassiadi, Persecution and Response in late Paganism. The evidence of Damascius. In: Journal of Hellenic Studies 113 (1993), pp. 1–29.
  • Polymnia Athanassiadi (editor and translator), Damascius. The Philosophical History. Athens: Apamea Cultural Association, 1999.
  • Cosmin Andron, Damascius on Knowledge and its Object. In: Rhizai 1 (2004) pp. 107–124
  • Sebastian R. P. Gertz, Death and Immortality in Late Neoplatonism: Studies on the Ancient Commentaries on Plato's Phaedo, Leiden: Brill, 2011.
  • Sebastian R. P. Gertz, "From 'Immortal' to 'Imperishable': Damascius on the Final Argument in Plato's Phaedo". In: Ancient Readings of Plato's Phaedo (Leiden: 2015), 240–55.
  • Raban von Haehling, Damascius und die heidnische Opposition im 5. Jahrhundert nach Christus. In: Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 23 (1980), pp. 82–85.
  • Udo Hartmann, Geist im Exil. Römische Philosophen am Hof der Sasaniden. In: Udo Hartmann/Andreas Luther/Monika Schuol (eds.), Grenzüberschreitungen. Formen des Kontakts zwischen Orient und Okzident im Altertum. Stuttgart 2002, pp. 123–160.
  • Androniki Kalogiratou, The Portrayal of Socrates by Damascius. In: Phronimon: Journal of the South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities 7 (1) 2006, pp. 45–54.
  • Androniki Kalogiratou, Theology in Philosophy: The Case of the Late Antique Neoplatonist Damascius. In Skepsis: A Journal for Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Research XVIII, i-ii, 2007, pp. 58–79.
  • Robert Lamberton, "Damascius. The Philosophical History" (book review), Bryn Mawr Classical Review, January 1, 2000.
  • John R. Martindale, John Morris, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire II. Cambridge 1980, pp. 342f.
  • Carlo Maria Mazzucchi, Damascio, Autore del Corpus Dionysiacum, e il dialogo Περι Πολιτικης Επιστημης. In: Aevum: Rassegna di scienze storiche linguistiche e filologiche 80, Nº 2 (2006), pp. 299–334.
  • Carlo Maria Mazzucchi, Iterum de Damascio Areopagita. In: Aevum: Rassegna di scienze storiche linguistiche e filologiche 87, Nº 1 (2013), pp. 249–265.
  • Marilena Vlad, Damascius et l'ineffable. Récit de l'impossible discours (Paris, Vrin, 2019)