Syrianus | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | c. 437 A.D. |
| Philosophical work | |
| School | Neoplatonism |
Syrianus (Ancient Greek:Συριανός,Syrianos; died c. 437 A.D.) was aGreekNeoplatonistphilosopher, and head ofPlato'sAcademy inAthens, succeeding his teacherPlutarch of Athens in 431/432 A.D. He is important as the teacher ofProclus, and, like Plutarch and Proclus, as a commentator onPlato andAristotle. His best-known extant work is a commentary on theMetaphysics of Aristotle. He is said to have written also on theDe Caelo and theDe Interpretatione of Aristotle and on Plato'sTimaeus.
He was a native ofAlexandria, Egypt and the son of Philoxenus. We know little of his personal history, but that he came toAthens, and studied with great zeal underPlutarch of Athens, the head of the Neoplatonist school, who regarded him with great admiration and affection, and appointed him as his successor. He is important as the teacher ofProclus andHermias. Proclus regarded him with the greatest veneration, and gave directions that at his death he should be buried in the same tomb withThemistius.
Only a little remains of the writings of Syrianus, the surviving works are:
Among the lost works, Syrianus wrote commentaries onAristotle'sDe Caelo andDe Interpretatione. We learn from the commentary of Proclus on theTimaeus ofPlato that Syrianus also wrote a commentary on the same book. Syrianus also wrote works onThe Theology ofOrpheus, andOn the Harmony of Orpheus, Pythagoras and Plato with theOracles.Theodorus Meliteniota, in hisProoemium in Astronomiam, mentions commentaries on theMagna Syntaxis ofPtolemy by the philosopher Syrianus. TheSuda attributes several works to Syrianus, but which are in fact the works of Proclus.[1]
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Syrianus' philosophical significance lies in the field of metaphysics and theexegesis of Plato. He is important in expanding the details of the Neoplatonist metaphysical system begun byIamblichus andmost completely delineated by Proclus.[2]
The most valuable remains that we possess are the commentaries on theMetaphysics ofAristotle. In explaining the propositions of Aristotle, he appends the views held by the Neoplatonist school on the subject in hand, and endeavours to establish the latter against the former. In hisMetaphysics commentary Syrianus explains his view of theMonad and theDyad in a number of places. TheOne is immediately followed by a supreme monad and dyad. Syrianus describes the monad as masculine and the dyad as feminine. He employs the doctrine of the two cosmic principles to explain the origin of evil. He denies that there arePlatonic forms of things which are evil or base. The dyad is indirectly responsible for evil. Syrianus attributes the existence of evil to otherness and plurality, which he believes the dyad is directly responsible for creating.[2]
One of his fundamental principles is that it is a proposition of general applicability that the same cannot be both affirmed and denied at the same time of the same thing; but that in any sense involving the truth of either the affirmation or the denial of a proposition, it applies only to existing things, but not to that which transcends speech and knowledge, for this admits neither of affirmation nor of denial, since every assertion respecting it must be false.[3] On the whole, the doctrines laid down in this work are those of the Neoplatonist school.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)