Bios Philosophos. Philosophy in Ancient Greek Biography
Edited by Mauro Bonazzi Edited by Stefan Schorn
An innovative study focusing on the interrelationship between ancient Greek biographical texts and philosophy, from the 4th century B.C. to the 6th century A.D.
In the 4th century B.C., philosophers began to write not only philosophical texts, but also biographical ones. As biographers, they often presented members of their own schools as the epitome of their ideals, or tried to prove that the followers of others lived in ways inconsistent with their own doctrines, which the writers thereby hoped to show were ultimately unrealizable. Other biographies contained chapters engaging in doxographical or more properly philosophical discussions. Even when the philosopher-biographers’ attention turned to the lives of politicians and poets, they would find occasions to introduce their philosophical concerns. This whole genre of Greek biography, then, is an rich source of commentary on the philosophical doctrines current in Antiquity. The papers collected in this volume explore the many ways in which philosophy was incorporated into such texts, as well as how the genre was used as a means of philosophical instruction, discussion and polemics. They analyze texts from the 4th century B.C. to the 6th century A.D., some belonging to the best-known examples of the genre, and others being virtually unknown to most students of Antiquity. The volume contains studies of, among others, Dicaearchus, Timaeus, Philodemus, Plutarch, Lucian, Iamblichus, Philostratus, Eunapius and the anonymous Prolegomena to Plato’s Philosophy.
- Edited by Mauro Bonazzi
- Edited by Stefan Schorn
Other Titles in this Series
Natura aut voluntas?
Recherches sur la pensee politique et ethique hellenistique et romaine et son influence
Volume 11
Plato Latinus. Aspects de la transmission de Platon en latin dans l’Antiquite
Actes des Diatribai de Gargnano
Volume 8
Une piete de la raison, philosophie et religion dans le stoicisme imperial
Des Lettres a Lucilius de Seneque aux Pensees de Marc-Aurele
Volume 3
Stoic Presocratics – Presocratic Stoics
Studies in the Stoic Reception of Early Greek Philosophy
Volume 17
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