Aedesius ( grc-gre, Αἰδέσιος, died 355 AD) was a

Neoplatonist Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...

philosopher and mystic born of a noble

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

n family.

Career

Aedesius was born into a wealthy Cappadocian family, but he moved to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, where he was apprenticed to

Iamblichos Iamblichus (; grc-gre, Ἰάμβλιχος ; Aramaic: 𐡉𐡌𐡋𐡊𐡅 ''Yamlīḵū''; ) was a Syrian neoplatonic philosopher of Arabic origin. He determined a direction later taken by neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of ...

. He quickly became his best pupil and the two became friends. Aedesius's own philosophical doctrine, however, was somewhere between

Platonism Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. Platonism at le ...

and

eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in ...

and, according to

Eunapius Eunapius ( el, Εὐνάπιος; fl. 4th–5th century AD) was a Greek sophist and historian of the 4th century AD. His principal surviving work is the ''Lives of Philosophers and Sophists'' ( grc-gre, Βίοι Φιλοσόφων καὶ Σο� ...

, he differed from Iamblichus on certain points connected with

theurgy Theurgy (; ) describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action or evoking the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis (uniting wi ...

and

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. This cites:

Ritter Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above "Edler" and below "Freiherr" (Baron). As with most titles an ...

and Preller, p. 552 (presumably of ''Historia philosophiae Graeco-Romanae''); Ritter's ''Geschichte der Philosophie''; T. Whittaker, ''The Neoplatonists'' (Cambridge, 1901). After the death of his master, the school of Syria was dispersed and Aedesius seems to have modified his doctrines out of fear of Constantine II, and took refuge in

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

. An oracle in

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

verse represented a pastoral life as his only retreat, but his disciples, perhaps calming his fears by a metaphorical interpretation, compelled him to resume his instructions.

School of philosophy at Pergamon

Aedesius founded a school of philosophy at

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...

, which emphasized theurgy and the revival of

polytheism Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...

, and where he numbered among his pupils

Eusebius of Myndus Eusebius of Myndus ( grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος) was a 4th-century philosopher, a distinguished Neoplatonist. He is described by Eunapius as one of the links in the "Golden Chain" of Neoplatonism. He was a pupil of Aedesius of Pergamum. He devoted ...

Maximus of Ephesus Maximus of Ephesus ( grc-gre, Μάξιμος ὁ Ἐφέσιος; c. 310 – 372 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher. He is said to have come from a rich family, and exercised great influence over the emperor Julian, who was commended to him by Ae ...

, and the Roman emperor Julian. After the accession of the latter to the imperial purple he invited Aedesius to continue his instructions, but the declining strength of the sage being unequal to the task, two of his most learned disciples,

Chrysanthius Chrysanthius of Sardis ( grc-gre, Χρυσάνθιος) was a Greek philosopher of the 4th century AD who studied at the school of Iamblichus. He was one of the favorite pupils of Aedesius, and devoted himself mainly to the mystical side of Neo ...

and the aforementioned Eusebius, were by his own desire appointed to supply his place.Eunapius, ''Vita Aedesius'' His co-teacher and perhaps consort at the Pergamon school was the female philosopher and mystic,

Sosipatra Sosipatra ( grc-gre, Σωσιπάτρα) was a Neoplatonist philosopher and mystic who lived in Ephesus and Pergamon in the first half of the 4th century CE. The story of her life is told in Eunapius' ''Lives of the Sophists''. Biography Early ...

. None of his writings have survived, but there is an extant biography by

, a Greek sophist and historian of the 4th century who wrote a collection of biographies titled ''Lives of the Sophists''.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aedesius 355 deaths 4th-century Romans 4th-century philosophers Neoplatonists Roman-era philosophers Year of birth missing