All from Nothing: Sara Rappe on Damascius

We are delighted to speak with Sara Rappe about the great Damascius, final scholarch of Athenian Platonism.

Listen on SHWEP2 sources in collection · 2 translated

Primary Sources

Olympiodorus: Commentary on Plato's Gorgias

Olympiodorus · 1998 · English · 363 pages

This text provides a rare look at how the final generation of Neoplatonists read Plato under the pressure of a changing Roman Empire. Olympiodorus argues that the Gorgias is not merely about rhetoric, but about establishing the foundations of constitutional happiness. He systematically dismantles th

Fully translated

Damascius: Puzzles and Solutions Concerning the Primary Causes

Damascius · 2020 · English · 245 pages

Damascius, the final head of the Platonic Academy, writes from the precipice of a disappearing world. He argues that our standard tools of logic and naming are useless when applied to the First Principle. Instead of constructing a new system, he tears down existing ones to expose the limits of what

Fully translated

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