Although known as "Proklos of Athens", Proklos was actually born in Constantinople, the capital of Byzantine Empire. He moved to Athens at the age of 18, and studied at Plato College, a school founded by philosopher Plato in 387 BC, which maintained his 800-year tradition. Proklos was very successful and became the dean of the college. He stayed in this position for nearly 50 years until his death.
Life and education
There are two sources that tell us about Proclus' life, namely, Proclus' life, or Marinus' theory of happiness, Proclus' loyal student and biographer (about 440-500 AD) and the history of philosophy from Damascus (about 462-538 AD), the last leader of Plato's Academy. However, like most ancient biographies, they portrayed Proclus as a perfect figure. Therefore, these accounts should be reserved. From Marinus, we learned that Proclus was born in a wealthy lawyer family in Constantinople. He studied as a lawyer before deciding to study philosophy in Alexandria. According to Marinus, after receiving information in his dream, he decided to go to Athens to study philosophy. In 430 or 43 1 year, Proklos, who was only 18 years old, moved to Athens to study at Plato Institute.
After the death of his teacher SYRIANUS, PROCLUS became the dean of the college, where he taught, wrote and managed the whole school.
At that time, Greek culture was almost completely dominated by Christianity, and paganism gradually lost its importance. Paganism refers to the ancient Greek religions depicted in Greek myths and Greek literary works (such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey) and hesiod's Shenpu, as well as a set of rituals and customs related to these myths. The era of Proclus was marked by religious riots: the ancient Greek temples and statues in Athens were destroyed and pagans were persecuted by Christian authorities.
Three years after Proclus was born, the pagan philosopher Hipatia of Alexandria (about March 370 -4 15) was killed by a mob in Alexandria. However, there are still some voices of opposition that have not completely subsided. It can be seen that there were still famous schools of ancient philosophy as knowledge centers in Alexandria and Athens at that time. However, Christianity is still the dominant religion. In the next few centuries, the traditional Greek faith almost completely disappeared, which was marked by the closure of the last Plato's Academy by Justinian, the Christian emperor of Byzantium, in 529 AD. As the scholar Wildberg described it: "The pagan culture was besieged and the ancient gods began to give up" (3).
Many Greek philosophers, especially those of Athens School, opposed this trend and tried their best to defend heresy. This is the religious atmosphere when Proclus joined the Athens School. This school focuses on neo-Platonism teaching. Neo-Platonism is a modern term used to describe various thinkers in the late ancient times. Starting from Plotinus (about 204-270 AD), he was a philosopher who tried to preserve Plato's thoughts. Proclose studied under the guidance of some of the most famous neo-Platonists of his time, such as Plutarch (about 350-430 AD) and Silenus (who died in 437 AD) in Athens.
Proklos respects the teachings of Syria very much and never criticizes him. He also studied under a female philosopher, Asclepinea (about 430-485 AD), who was the daughter of Plutarch. This is related to many neo-Platonists' belief in gender equality in education, governance and religion. Proclos himself wrote about the necessity of women's education, and people thought that he was specially guided by Athena and Aphrodite. These teachers introduced him to the mysterious explanations of Plato and Aristotle.
Proclus is also familiar with various mysterious religions, such as orpheus, a mysterious worship related to orpheus, and the Oracle of the Chaldeans. Together with Plato's Timio, these mysterious texts have become the most important texts of neo-Plato philosophers. His education conveys more than simple text education. Proclus also began rituals (magic techniques) aimed at becoming a practical way to purify the soul and combine with God.
After the death of his teacher, Syrianus, Proclus became the dean of the college, where he taught, wrote and managed the whole school. He also participated in the social life of Athens. It is said that he is very concerned about his reputation. Although he advocated pagan philosophy, he was not the specific target of persecution by Christian authorities. The fact that he was allowed to manage the Athens School for 50 years without encountering major difficulties shows this point. The only influence he suffered was a year's exile. This exile was not difficult for him, because he spent his time traveling and became more familiar with various religious ceremonies. His day follows a strict and almost constant routine. It is said that he is in good health and a vegetarian. Even when he was very old, he was famous for bathing in the sea. After he died at 73,
philosophical work
Proklose is regarded as one of the most comprehensive and systematic critics of Plato.
In view of his background and education, Proklos was determined to defend the traditional Greek paganism. He believes that this can be achieved by creating a knowledge framework for traditional Greek beliefs. He is a very prolific and versatile writer, who can write about 700 lines every day. Proklos wrote many comments on the works of Plato, Aristotle, Alucid and other outstanding figures in Greek philosophy. In these comments, he not only repeated and analyzed their views, but also tried to enrich them with mysterious works, such as the Chaldean Oracle and orpheus text mentioned above. Although most of Proklose's comments have been lost, he is still considered as one of the most comprehensive and systematic critics of Plato.
According to Proclos, Plato's texts constitute a single system, and Proclos believes that Plato never contradicts himself. Proklos not only systematized Plato's works, but also often explained them in the way that he recognized the ancient Greek gods. For example, Plato discussed the dialogue between law, politics and justice in the Republic Review, and Proclosus used Plato's argument about poetry to provide rational proof for the importance and effectiveness of Homer's myth. In his comments on Timio, Proclus provided a comprehensive view of the sacred level of the Greek Pantheon. Proklos combined Plato's ideas about the creation of the universe here, which is consistent with Greek mythology.
In addition to his comments, Proklos is also famous for his meticulous metaphysics. Similar to Plotinus, Proklos believed that existence was the first principle of the universe. In his major systematic works, such as Theological Principles and Plato's Theology, he described in detail how everything proceeds in an orderly way from "one". As the scholar Tarant wrote:
Proclos tried to be more systematic and "scientific" than his predecessor, even when dealing with topics that we don't think should be dealt with scientifically today, such as theological principles. (42)
heritage
Although Proclus intends to defend pagan gods, his work can't prevent Christianity from completely covering up pre-existing beliefs. However, Proclus had a great influence on Christian thinkers and theologians, especially the Byzantine Empire. These scholars used Proclus and other Plato philosophers to defend Christian theology. For example, Arepakit's pseudo-Dionysus (5th-6th century A.D.) was a famous Christian mystic who explained the hierarchy of angels with many features of Proclossus system.
Many little-known Christian scholars, such as Michael Pucellos (about10/8-about 1082) and William of Molbech (about 12 15- 1286). This kept him awake. In the 5th century A.D./kloc-0, the famous Plato scholar Marsilio Ficino (1433- 1499) studied Proklos' works. Ficcino devoted himself to the mysterious interpretation of Plato and translated his dialogues into Italian. He used Proclus' comments on Plato to write the Christian version of his Plato theology. In addition, he also used Proclus' view of immortality of the soul to defend Christian theology. However, it was not until the 9th century A.D.1that Proklos' thoughts gained wide attention through the works of Thomas Taylor (1758- 1835), and the British scholar translated all Proklos' works into English. Today, the most important contribution of his works is that they provide us with valuable insights into pagan philosophy and religious traditions in the late ancient times.
conclusion
Proklos devoted his life to defending the systematization of Greek polytheism and Plato's theology. He can be said to be the last great pagan intellectual, and his works have proved the philosophical tradition of pre-Christianity in ancient Greece. Like many ancient philosophers, his system was adopted by Christian thinkers, who transformed his thoughts into different forms. Wildberg's work on Proclos is summarized as follows:
In his life, he put himself under great pressure to pursue the best possible life, and devoted all his physical, intellectual and spiritual energy to reviving the declining intellectual and spiritual pagan culture. Although he is probably a "difficult person" in many aspects, demanding and self-centered, later generations owe him a lot. (20)
refer to
Preface by Baltzly, Dirk Finmore, John F. & Myers and Graeme. Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Christian Wildberg. Athens Proklos: A Life was edited by d'Hoine, Pieter, Martijn and Marije. Oxford University Press, 20 17, 1-27.
Harold Tarant. "The Position of Proclosus in Plato's Tradition", edited by d'Hoine, Pieter, Martijn and Marije. Oxford University Press, 20 17, 27-45.
John Mullenborn. Medieval philosophy. Routledge Publishing House, 2006.
Marinus and David R. Fidler and Kenneth guthrie from Samaria. Proclus's life is still about happiness. Farnis Press, 1986.