ABSTRACT

This third collection of articles by John Dillon covers the period 1996-2006, the decade since the appearance of The Great Tradition. Once again, the subjects covered range from Plato himself and the Old Academy, through Philo and Middle Platonism, to the Neoplatonists and beyond. Particular concerns evidenced in the papers are the continuities in the Platonic tradition, and the setting of philosophers in their social and cultural contexts, while at the same time teasing out the philosophical implications of particular texts. Such topics are addressed as atomism in the Old Academy, Philo's concept of immateriality, Plutarch's and Julian's views on theology, and peculiar features of Iamblichus' exegeses of Plato and Aristotle, but also the broader questions of the social position of the philosopher in second century A.D. society, and the nature of ancient biography.

chapter III|15 pages

The Timaeus in the Old Academy

chapter V|17 pages

Atomism in the Old Academy

chapter VII|8 pages

The Pleasures and Perils of Soul-Gardening

chapter VIII|12 pages

AsôMatos: Nuances of Incorporeality in Philo

chapter IX|5 pages

Thrasyllus and The Logos 1

chapter X|7 pages

Plutarch’s Debt to Xenocrates

chapter XI|10 pages

Xi Plutarch and the Separable Intellect

chapter XIII|9 pages

Plutarch’s Use of Unidentified Quotations

chapter XVI|11 pages

Monotheism in the Gnostic Tradition

chapter XVII|9 pages

An Unknown Platonist on God *

chapter XIX|6 pages

Plotinus on Whether the Stars are Causes

chapter XXII|7 pages

Iamblichus on the Personal Daemon

chapter XXIII|13 pages

The Theology of Julian’S Hymn to King Helios

chapter XXV|11 pages

Damascius on Procession and Return