Astrology, Politics, and Platonism in the Early Empire: The Case of Thrasyllus

Republic, Laws, and Timaeus

In this profound synthesis of 'Republic,' 'Laws,' and 'Timaeus,' Plato bridges the gap between the earthly and the divine. He argues that virtue is not merely a behavior, but a liberation of the soul achieved through alignment with the celestial sphere and the internalizing of 'common conceptions.'

Plato . Platon . Platonis Dialogi

This collection captures the urgent, living spirit of Socratic inquiry at its most potent. Plato argues that we must abandon the distractions of the physical realm to grasp eternal truths. He warns that writing creates a dangerous illusion of wisdom by substituting memorized facts for internal under

Plato De legibus . Platonos Nomoi . Ac praeterea alii eiusdem [Platonis] Dialogi tum gnesioi, tum nothoi, Definitiones, et epistolae

This work represents the peak of Plato's political thought, moving beyond abstract theories of justice to the mechanics of statecraft. He argues that laws are empty without the internal habits of virtue that only education can provide. Plato forces the reader to confront the reality that excess and

Astronomicon

Marcus Manilius’s Astronomicon is a breathtaking synthesis of technical science, Stoic philosophy, and epic poetry that challenges the reader to 'scale the heavens' and find the divine within. Writing at the dawn of the Roman Empire, Manilius dismisses the tired tropes of kings and wars to map the '

Books of Astronomy (Firmicus, Manilius, Aratus)

Firmicus Maternus and his peers treat astrology not as superstition but as a rigorous, divine science. The text argues that the human soul remains trapped in a mortal body that responds to the precise movements of the Moon and planets. It provides specific, technical instructions for calculating lif

Astronomicon Libri VIII (Firmicus, Ptolemy, Hermes, Mashallah, Omar, Zahel, Manilius)

Astronomica

Marcus Manilius’s Astronomica, particularly in this definitive edition by Joseph Scaliger, offers a unique window into the early 1st-century AD Roman understanding of the cosmos. Far from mere superstition, the text presents a rigorous, technical system where the universe is a rational organism gove

Plato Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Phaedrus

Plato documents the final days of his teacher, Socrates, as he confronts a city that wants him dead. The text moves from the courtroom to the prison cell, eventually shifting into deep metaphysical inquiry. It argues that philosophy is nothing less than the practice of dying. By rejecting passive wr

Dialogues of Plato, Vol. 5 (Laws, Epinomis, Letters)

This volume presents Plato’s final, most grounded political work. Unlike the Republic, these pages focus on the practical mechanisms of governance, education, and criminal justice. Plato argues that the soul must prioritize divine order over base human appetites to achieve any lasting stability. He

Works (Laws, Definitions)

The Geography of Strabo, Vol. 1

This volume reclaims geography as the vital engine of political and moral life. Strabo argues that the physical world dictates human destiny and that rulers who ignore geography invite disaster. He asserts that ancient poetry, specifically the work of Homer, serves as the original, authoritative tex