Proclus

An introduction to the philosophical and religious thought of Proclus the Neoplatonist, one of the most complex thinkers of antiquity.

Proclus (410-485) was the last great Greek philosopher. In this study, Proclus expert Lucas Siorvantes sets out to strip away the complexities surrounding this traditionally difficult philosopher, with the intention of providing an accessible introduction to his work. Based on extensive study of the primary sources, he takes the reader through Proclus' metaphysics and epistemology, introducing the results of original research as well as explaining the more difficult passages. Sorivantes surveys the philosophical climate of Late Antiquity dominated by Aristotle and Plato, and points out the direct influence Proclus had on the subsequent work of Kepler and Copernicus.

This is the first English translation of Proclus' commentary on Plato's Parmenides. Glenn Morrow's death occurred while he was less than halfway through the translation, which was completed by John Dillon. A major work of the great Neoplatonist philosopher, the commentary is an intellectual tour de force that greatly influenced later medieval and Renaissance thought. As the notes and introductory summaries explain, it comprises a full account of Proclus' own metaphysical system, disguised, as is so much Neoplatonic philosophy, in the form of a commentary.

Proclus' Commentary on Plato's dialogue Timaeus is arguably the most important commentary on a text of Plato, offering unparalleled insights into eight centuries of Platonic interpretation. This edition offers the first new English translation of the work for nearly two centuries, building on significant recent advances in scholarship on Neoplatonic commentators. It provides an invaluable record of early interpretations of Plato's dialogue, while also presenting Proclus' own views on the meaning and significance of Platonic philosophy. The present volume, the first in the edition, deals with what may be seen as the prefatory material of the Timaeus. In it Socrates gives a summary of the political arrangements favoured in the Republic, and Critias tells the story of how news of the defeat of Atlantis by ancient Athens had been brought back to Greece from Egypt by the poet and politician Solon.

Proclus' Commentary on Plato's dialogue Timaeus is arguably the most important commentary on a text of Plato, offering unparalleled insights into eight centuries of Platonic interpretation. This edition offered the first new English translation of the work for nearly two centuries, building on significant advances in scholarship on Neoplatonic commentators. It provides an invaluable record of early interpretations of Plato's dialogue, while also presenting Proclus' own views on the meaning and significance of Platonic philosophy. The present volume, the third in the edition, offers a substantial introduction and notes designed to help readers unfamiliar with this author. It presents Proclus' version of Plato's account of the elements and the mathematical proportions which bind together the body of the world.

This book explores the various views on language and its relation to philosophy in the Platonic tradition by examening the reception of Plato's Cratylus in antiquity in general, and the commentary of the Neoplatonist Proclus in particular.

Stephen Gersch charts the influence of the late Greek philosopher Proclus from his own lifetime down to the Renaissance (500-1600 CE).