Isidore was born in Alexandria. In Athens, he studied under Proclus, and learned the doctrine of Aristotle from Marinus.[3] According to Damascius, "Isidore was awestruck at the sight of Proclus, venerable and marvelous to see; he thought he was seeing in him the very face of true philosophy."[4] Proclus for his part used to "marvel at Isidore's appearance, as it was possessed by the divine and full of the philosophical life within."[5] Damascius further tells us that "Isidore, besides simplicity, loved truthfulness especially, and undertook to be straight-talking beyond what was necessary, and had no pretence in himself whatsoever."[6] The claim made in the Suda that Isidore was the husband of Hypatia,[7] must be in error since Isidore was born long after Hypatia died.[8] It is elsewhere related that Isidore had a wife called Domna, who died five days after the birth of their son whom they named Proclus.[9]
Isidore returned to Alexandria accompanied by Sallustius.[10] In Alexandria he taught philosophy. He was in Athens when Proclus died (in 485), and later when Marinus took over as head (scholarch) of the Neoplatonist school.[3] Marinus persuaded him to be his successor as head of the school, but he left Athens not long after Marinus died,[11] resigning his position to Hegias.[2]
Isidore is known principally as the teacher of Damascius, whose testimony in his Life of Isidore presents Isidore in a very favourable light as a man and a thinker.[2] Damascius' Life, which is dedicated to Theodora, a disciple of both Isidore and Damascius, is preserved in summary form by Photius in his Bibliotheca,[12] and in fragments in the Suda.
Philosophy
It is generally admitted that he was rather an enthusiast than a thinker; reasoning with him was subsidiary to inspiration, and he preferred the theories of Pythagoras and Plato to the unimaginative logic and the practical ethics of the Stoics and Aristotelians. He seems to have given loose rein to theosophical speculation and attached great importance to dreams and waking visions, on which he used to expatiate in his public discourses.[2]
Notes
^Encyclopædia Britannica: Isidore of Alexandria (Greek philosopher)
^ abcdOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Isidore of Alexandria". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 871.
isidore, alexandria, confused, with, saint, ɔːr, also, isidorus, ɔːr, greek, Ἰσίδωρος, Ἀλεξανδρεύς, greek, philosopher, last, neoplatonists, lived, athens, alexandria, toward, century, became, head, school, athens, succession, marinus, followed, proclus, life,. Not to be confused with Saint Isidore of Alexandria Isidore of Alexandria ˈ ɪ z ɪ d ɔːr also Isidorus ˌ ɪ z ɪ ˈ d ɔːr e s Greek Ἰsidwros ὁ Ἀle3andreys c 450 c 520 was a Greek 1 philosopher and one of the last of the Neoplatonists He lived in Athens and Alexandria toward the end of the 5th century AD He became head of the school in Athens in succession to Marinus who followed Proclus 2 Life EditIsidore was born in Alexandria In Athens he studied under Proclus and learned the doctrine of Aristotle from Marinus 3 According to Damascius Isidore was awestruck at the sight of Proclus venerable and marvelous to see he thought he was seeing in him the very face of true philosophy 4 Proclus for his part used to marvel at Isidore s appearance as it was possessed by the divine and full of the philosophical life within 5 Damascius further tells us that Isidore besides simplicity loved truthfulness especially and undertook to be straight talking beyond what was necessary and had no pretence in himself whatsoever 6 The claim made in the Suda that Isidore was the husband of Hypatia 7 must be in error since Isidore was born long after Hypatia died 8 It is elsewhere related that Isidore had a wife called Domna who died five days after the birth of their son whom they named Proclus 9 Isidore returned to Alexandria accompanied by Sallustius 10 In Alexandria he taught philosophy He was in Athens when Proclus died in 485 and later when Marinus took over as head scholarch of the Neoplatonist school 3 Marinus persuaded him to be his successor as head of the school but he left Athens not long after Marinus died 11 resigning his position to Hegias 2 Isidore is known principally as the teacher of Damascius whose testimony in his Life of Isidore presents Isidore in a very favourable light as a man and a thinker 2 Damascius Life which is dedicated to Theodora a disciple of both Isidore and Damascius is preserved in summary form by Photius in his Bibliotheca 12 and in fragments in the Suda Philosophy EditIt is generally admitted that he was rather an enthusiast than a thinker reasoning with him was subsidiary to inspiration and he preferred the theories of Pythagoras and Plato to the unimaginative logic and the practical ethics of the Stoics and Aristotelians He seems to have given loose rein to theosophical speculation and attached great importance to dreams and waking visions on which he used to expatiate in his public discourses 2 Notes Edit Encyclopaedia Britannica Isidore of Alexandria Greek philosopher a b c d One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Isidore of Alexandria Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 14 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 871 a b Suda m199 Damascius Life of Isidore fr 248 cf Suda ai89 Damascius Life of Isidore fr 80 cf Suda ei40 ei301 Damascius Life of Isidore fr 45 cf Suda a4587 Suda y166 Isidorus 1 entry in John Robert Martindale 1980 The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire Cambridge University Press Damascius fr 399 cf Photius 301 Damascius Life of Isidore fr 138 cf Suda s62 Isidorus 5 entry in John Robert Martindale 1980 The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire Cambridge University Press Photius Bibliotheca 181 212 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Isidore of Alexandria amp oldid 1136091764, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
