Heliodorus of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

( el, Ἡλιόδωρος) 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 who lived in the 5th century AD. He was the son of Hermias and

Aedesia Aedesia ( grc-gre, Αἰδεσία) was a philosopher of the Neoplatonic school who lived in Alexandria in the fifth century AD. She was a relation of Syrianus and the wife of Hermias, and was equally celebrated for her beauty and her virtues. ...

, and the younger brother of Ammonius. His father, Hermias, died when he was young, and his mother, Aedesia, raised him and his brother in their home city of Alexandria until they were old enough to go to philosophy school. Aedesia took them to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

where they studied under

Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...

. Eventually they returned to Alexandria, where they both taught philosophy. Damascius, who was taught by Heliodorus, describes him as less gifted than his elder brother, and more superficial in his character and studies. He cannot be the author of a commentary on the ''Astrology'' of

Paulus Alexandrinus Paulus Alexandrinus was an astrological author from the late Ancient Rome, Roman Empire. His extant work, ''Eisagogika'', or ''Introductory Matters'' (or ''Introduction''), which was written in 378 AD, is a treatment of major topics in astrology as ...

which was written after 564, which is ascribed to another

Heliodorus Heliodorus is a Greek name meaning "Gift of the Sun". Several persons named Heliodorus are known to us from ancient times, the best known of which are: *Heliodorus (minister) a minister of Seleucus IV Philopator c. 175 BC * Heliodorus of Athen ...

References

*Jones, A., Martindale, J., Morris, J., (1992), ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', page 532. Cambridge University Press. {{Authority control 5th-century Byzantine people 5th-century philosophers Neoplatonists Ancient Roman philosophers Roman-era students in Athens