Priscian of Lydia and Pseudo-Simplicius on the soul

doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521194846.012

41 - Priscian of Lydia and Pseudo-Simplicius on the soul

from VI - Late Platonism

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 May 2011

F. A. J. De Haas

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Lloyd Gerson

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Lloyd Gerson: Affiliation:
University of Toronto

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Summary

Little is known of the life of Priscian of Lydia (born late fifth century ce), who is not to be confused with his older namesake Priscian of Caesarea (fl. c. 500 ce), the famous Latin grammarian. Priscian of Lydia is one of the six philosophers listed by Agathias Histories 2.30–1 to have accompanied Damascius on his journey to the Sassanian king Chosroes I (reign 531–79 ce). Agathias suggests they came of their own accord guided by the false impression that Chosroes’ reign resembled a Platonic state; he does not connect their journey to the famous closure of the Athenian school in 529. The philosophers soon discovered that Chosroes was far from the ideal king and resolved to leave quickly. Because Chosroes was well disposed towards them Priscian and the others were able to leave Chosroes under the safeguard of a treaty the Persian king concluded with Rome in 532, which comprised a clause that ‘these men should be allowed to return to their own country and live there henceforth in safety, without being forced to adopt opinions which they did not hold, or to change their own faith’. Whether they settled in Athens, or perhaps in Carrhae (Harran), where over a century later a centre of Platonic philosophy was flourishing, is still a matter of controversy.

SOLUTIONES AD CHOSROEM

Priscian is credited with a work apparently written for King Chosroes, and known to us in Latin translation3 under the title Solutiones eorum de quibus dubitavit Chosroes Persarum rex. The text does not give us any indication about the circumstances in which it originated.

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge History of Philosophy in Late Antiquity , pp. 756 - 764

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521194846.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2000

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