ABSTRACT
If Clement is to argue that all of Greek and non-Greek philosophy received what wisdom it possesses from Moses, then he must have an account of what characterizes the philosophical activity that Moses does. In his representation of Moses as both a moral exemplar and a philosopher, Clement draws on the Platonic ideal of assimilation to God, or ὁμοίωσις θεῷ, exploiting the linguistic similarities of this passage to Genesis 1:26-8, where God declares his intent to create human beings according to his image (κατ’ εἰκόνα) and likeness (καθ’ ὁμοίωσιν).1 The ideal of the assimilation to God played a central role in later ancient ethical thought, among both Platonists and non-Platonists. Yet what exactly Plato himself meant by this locution has itself been open to interpret - ation. Does it involve the flight away from human affairs, as Socrates suggests in the Theaetetus (176a5-b2)? Or does it imply the kind of rational governing activity that characterizes the demiurge of the Timaeus?2
