Hierocles of Alexandria

Hierocles of Alexandria was a late ancient Greek philosopher ( Neoplatonist ). He lived in the first half of the 5th century.

Life

Hierocles was a pupil of Plutarch of Athens, has therefore studied in Athens. Later he taught in his native city of Alexandria, where he was primarily concerned with the interpretation of Plato's writings. In his pupils there he enjoyed a high reputation. Otherwise, little is known of his life except for one episode that tells the philosopher Damascius: Hierocles went to Constantinople Opel where he came from an unknown reason with the authorities in conflict. He was tried, convicted, whipped and temporarily banished to an unknown location. It was probably in the offense is a violation of the prohibition of non-Christian religious practices. Later he returned from exile back to Alexandria. He was known to the historian Olympiodorus of Thebes.

Works

Apparently Hierocles wrote only two works: a detailed commentary on the Pythagorean " Golden Verses ", which is completely preserved, and only a fragmentary treatise On Providence and the Heimarmene, dedicated Olympiodoros. From the latter work Photios provides an overview and excerpts.

On Providence and the Heimarmene treated far more than the title indicates, because Hierocles looked at it - starting from the core topic Providence - with a number of philosophical questions and offered a view of the history of philosophy, that of Orpheus and Homer to his teacher Plutarch ranged from Athens. He wanted to show from the Neo-Platonic view that all significant thinkers before and after Plato ( including Orpheus and Homer, which he took as philosophers or theologians ) have consistently the basic ideas of Platonism represented. Same basis he also wrote the oriental wisdom tradition ( Chaldean Oracles ). Strongly advocating the thesis of compliance of Plato and Aristotle. Converse views and the views of the Stoics and Epicureans, he tried to refute contradictions between the traditional positions of the authorities, he led back to future modification of their teachings. Among the nachplatonischen philosopher Ammonius Sakkas he had a key role to play; this 've cleaned the true Platonic- Aristotelian theory of distortions and transmitted to his students and future generations in their original pure and uniform shape.

In the commentary on the Golden Verses to Hierocles proves Neo-Pythagoreans. Like other late antique Neoplatonist and Neo-Pythagoreans, he was convinced that Plato is no difference between the teachings of Pythagoras and where. The Golden Verses he regarded as a summary introduction to the study of this universal philosophy.

Teaching

Previously, it was argued, Hierocles have included Christian thought and aimed at a synthesis of Platonism and Christianity. According to the current state of research is to be assumed that he, a consistent supporter of the old religion was, like the Athenian Neoplatonists, in whose circle he had received his education and remained and Christianity rejected. Strongly influenced by the Neo-Platonist Hierocles was Iamblichus of Chalcis. The previously held view, Hierocles have a specifically Alexandrian Platonism represented who had distinguished themselves in metaphysics much of the teachings of the Athenian Neoplatonists is outdated.

Hierocles makes a threefold division of philosophy. Starting from the traditional division into practical and "theoretical" ( contemplative ) philosophy he shares the practical in a civil area ( PolitikON ) and an initiation -related ( telestikón ). All three will serve to purify the soul. The contemplative philosophy has the task to clean due to knowledge of truth the rational soul, the bourgeois ( social) to purify by virtue exercise the irrational soul, and the soul the initiation -related vehicle. The soul is the vehicle for Hierokles a spiritual " light- like body ," which he conceives as immortal. It provides for the connection of the rational soul to the physical body, which it breathes life when the soul enters it.

Like other Neoplatonist Hierocles assumes that A is the top priority in the hierarchy of beings. Below the one hand, it assumes a world creator ( demiurge ), which he also called Zeus and equate with the Pythagorean Tetraktys. In contrast to a person represented in Mittelplatonismus view he believes the creation of the physical world was not made on the basis of a pre-existent matter, but also the material substrate is part of an eternal process of creation. The demiurge he called creator of the entire visible and invisible world order. Immediately below the demiurge he assigns a the immortal gods, who - like all immortals - the Demiurge owe their existence, but have not been done in time. Among the gods is the class of the heroes or ( benign ) demons and that of this people. Gods, heroes and men are the three classes of rational souls; each individual is immutable in its class belonging.

The irrational soul area is for Hierocles - as well as the irrational life of animals and plants - create transitory and not directly from the Demiurge, but merely a trivial image of the Demiurge -generated. The immortal rational soul of man, however, can be redeemed; she frees herself from the material body and returns to its heavenly home. This is the area that also inhabit the heroes who have never gone into a material body. This distinguishes Hierocles ' doctrine from that of Plotinus, after which ascend the soul even further and with the One can unite.

Output

• Friedrich Wilhelm Köhler ( eds.): Hieroclis in aureum Pythagoreorum carmen commentarius. Teubner, Stuttgart 1974, ISBN 3-519-01410-6 ( critical edition of the Commentary on the Golden Verses )

Translations

• Friedrich Wilhelm Köhler ( translator's ): Hierocles: Comment on the Pythagorean Golden poem. Teubner, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-519-04042-5
• Hermann S. Shibli: Hierocles of Alexandria. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2002, ISBN 0-19-924921-0, pp. 327-362 (English translation of the fragments of On Providence and the Heimarmene a comment)