Commentaries on Plato refers to the great mass of literature produced, especially in the ancient and medieval world, to explain and clarify the works of Plato. Many Platonist philosophers in the centuries following Plato sought to clarify and summarise his thoughts, but it was during the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, that the Neoplatonists, in particular, wrote many commentaries on individual dialogues of Plato, many of which survive to the present day.

Greek commentators

Many of the scholars in the

Platonic Academy The Academy ( Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδημία) was founded by Plato in c. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenisti ...

sought to clarify and explain Plato's ideas. Already in the 3rd century BC, we hear of a commentary to Plato's ''

Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato * Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Gree ...

'' being written by Crantor of Soli; and in the 1st century AD a commentary on Plato's '' Republic'' was written by

Onasander Onasander or Onosander ( grc-gre, Ὀνήσανδρος ''Onesandros'' or Ὀνόσανδρος ''Onosandros''; fl. 1st century AD) was a Greek philosopher. He was the author of a commentary on the '' Republic'' of Plato, which is lost, but we stil ...

. By the 2nd century the

Middle Platonists Middle Platonism is the modern name given to a stage in the development of Platonic philosophy, lasting from about 90 BC – when Antiochus of Ascalon rejected the scepticism of the new Academy – until the development of neoplatonism u ...

were producing paraphrases and summaries of Plato's thought. Thus we have Albinus, who wrote an introduction to Plato's works, and

Alcinous In Greek mythology, Alcinous (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκίνους or Ἀλκίνοος ''Alkínoös'' means "mighty mind") was a son of Nausithous and brother of Rhexenor. After the latter's death, he married his brother's daughter Arete who ...

and

Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...

who both wrote manuals of Platonism.Zeller (1895), page 309 From the physician Galen we have fragments of a commentary on the ''Timaeus''. Already though the influence of Aristotle was being felt on the popular Platonism of the day, and we have the figure of Atticus (c. 175) who opposed the eclecticism which had invaded the school and contested the theories of Aristotle as an aberration from Plato. The Neoplatonists though sought to exhibit the philosophical ideas of Plato and Aristotle as a unity. Porphyry (3rd century) attempted in a special work to show the agreement of Aristotelian and Platonist philosophy and wrote a number of commentaries on Plato, Aristotle, and Theophrastus. Additional commentaries on Plato were written by

Dexippus Publius Herennius Dexippus ( el, Δέξιππος; c. 210–273 AD), Greek historian, statesman and general, was an hereditary priest of the Eleusinian family of the Kerykes, and held the offices of ''archon basileus'' and ''eponymous'' in Athe ...

Plutarch of Athens Plutarch of Athens ( el, Πλούταρχος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος; c. 350 – 430 AD) was a Greek philosopher and Neoplatonist who taught in Athens at the beginning of the 5th century. He reestablished the Platonic Academy there and became its ...

, and

Syrianus Syrianus ( grc, Συριανός, ''Syrianos''; died c. 437 A.D.) was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, and head of Plato's Academy in Athens, succeeding his teacher Plutarch of Athens in 431/432 A.D. He is important as the teacher of Proclus, and ...

. A partial translation and commentary in Latin of Plato's ''Timaeus'' by

Calcidius Calcidius (or Chalcidius) was a 4th-century philosopher (and possibly a Christian) who translated the first part (to 53c) of Plato's ''Timaeus'' from Greek into Latin around the year 321 and provided with it an extensive commentary. This was ...

was significant for being the only substantial work of Plato known to scholars in the Latin west for approximately 800 years. The best commentaries date from this era; most of the works of Proclus are commentaries on single dialogues of Plato and similar subjects. The commentaries on Plato were either given in lectures or written; and many have come down to us. Later Neoplatonist commentators on Plato whose works partially survive include

Damascius Damascius (; grc-gre, Δαμάσκιος, 458 – after 538), known as "the last of the Athenian Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the neoplatonic Athenian school. He was one of the neoplatonic philosophers who left Athens after law ...

and Olympiodorus.

Byzantine commentaries

In the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

era, Aristotle was read more often than Plato, because of the importance placed on Aristotle's logical treatises. A key figure was Arethas, the 10th century

Archbishop of Caesarea The archiepiscopal see of Caesarea in Palaestina, also known as Caesarea Maritima, is now a metropolitan see of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and also a titular see of the Catholic Church. It was one of the earliest Christian bi ...

, who concerned himself with the preservation of the manuscripts of Plato and other ancient writers, and wrote scholia to the texts of Plato in his own hand. By the 11th century enthusiastic admirers of Platonism could be found in figures such as Michael Psellos and

John Italus John Italus or Italos ( el, , ''Iōánnēs ho Italós''; la, Johannes Italus) was a neoplatonic Byzantine philosopher of the eleventh century. He was Calabrian in origin, his father being a soldier. He came to Constantinople, where he became ...

.Angelov (2007), pages 344-5 The only surviving commentary from the late empire is a commentary on the '' Parmenides'' by George Pachymeres.

Islamic commentaries

Compared to Aristotle, Plato figured far less prominently in Islamic philosophy. He was seen more as a symbol and as an inspiration rather than a source of practical philosophy.''Platonism in Islamic Philosophy'' (Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1998) Islamic Platonism, when it came, was a development within Aristotelian philosophy. Far fewer of his works were known to the Islamic world than those of Aristotle. It seems that only the ''

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

'', the ''

Sophist A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ...

'', the ''

'', and the '' Republic'', were available in Arabic translation.

Averroes Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology ...

, who wrote many commentaries on Aristotle, was probably motivated to write his one Platonic commentary, on the ''Republic'', only because he could not find a copy of Aristotle's '' Politics''.Black, page 119

References

Sources

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

(1896), ''Lectures on the History of Philosophy, Part One. Greek Philosophy''. *

Eduard Zeller Eduard Gottlob Zeller (; 22 January 1814, Kleinbottwar19 March 1908, Stuttgart) was a German philosopher and Protestant theologian of the Tübingen School of theology. He was well known for his writings on Ancient Greek philosophy, especially ...

(1895), ''Outlines of the History of Greek Philosophy''. *Dimiter Angelov (2007), ''Imperial Ideology and Political Thought in Byzantium, 1204-1330''. Cambridge University Press *Hugh H. Benson (2006), ''A Companion to Plato''. Blackwell *Antony Black (2001), ''The History of Islamic Political Thought''. Routledge *

Eleanor Dickey Eleanor Dickey, FBA (born 9 April 1967) is an American classicist, linguist, and academic, who specialises in the history of the Latin and Greek languages. Since 2013, she has been Professor of Classics at the University of Reading in England. E ...

(2007), ''Ancient Greek Scholarship''. Oxford University Press *Albrecht Dihle, Manfred Malzahn (1994), ''Greek and Latin Literature of the Roman Empire: From Augustus to Justinian''. Routledge *Edward Grant (2004), ''Science and Religion, 400 B.C. to A.D. 1550'', pages 93-4. Greenwood Publishing Group *George Alexander Kennedy (1999), ''Classical Rhetoric & Its Christian & Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern Times''. UNC Press

Greek commentators

Byzantine commentaries

Islamic commentaries

See also

References

Sources

Further reading