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7 - The Principle of Cosmic Unification in the Athenian School of Platonism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2024

By
Sarah Klitenic Wear
Edited by
Douglas Hedley  and
Daniel J. Tolan
Douglas Hedley
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Daniel J. Tolan
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

In Marinus’s Life of Proclus, Syrianus introduces a young Proclus to Plutarch of Athens, (Marinus, Life of Proclus, 12), the first head of the Athenian School of Platonism. A relationship between these three men develops that shapes what is known as the Athenian School of Platonism. In his writings, Proclus refers to Plutarch as his “spiritual grandfather” and Syrianus as “master” or “teacher,” in some instances, “father.”1 The bond between the three philosophers is so great that they share a house in Athens, close to the temple of Asclepius and the theatre (Marinus, Life of Proclus, 12; , 81–96). Upon his death, Plutarch of Athens bequeathed leadership of the school to Syrianus, who became head of the Athenian School of Platonism in 432 (Marinus, Life of Proclus, 12).

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Participation in the Divine
A Philosophical History, From Antiquity to the Modern Era
 , pp. 162 - 180
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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