Contested Esotericisms at the End of Antiquity: Simplicius, Philoponus, and Olympiodorus

Continuing our exsposé of late-antique Alexandria and her final polytheist Platonists, we focus in on three crucial thinkers: Simplicius of Kilikia, John Philoponus, and Olympiodorus, final scholarch to teach in the Golden Chain of Platonic tradition (or at least the last one to do so openly).

Listen on SHWEP1 source in collection · 1 translated

Primary Sources

Life of Pythagoras with Symbols and Golden Verses (Hierocles Commentary)

André Dacier; Nicholas Rowe (trans.) · 1707 · English · 462 pages

André Dacier and Hierocles offer a manual for the soul that refuses to tolerate intellectual laziness. They argue that the wisdom of Pythagoras is the bedrock of Western thought and a necessary precursor to Christian revelation. By stripping away centuries of historical gossip, they present a philos

Fully translated

← Back to all episodes