Philosopher, Scholar (1415 – 1487)
Thinker, philosopher and academic, one of the most outstanding Byzantine Greek humanists who disseminated the works of Plato and Aristotle to the West during the dawning of the Renaissance. With his original works and commentaries on the works of Aristotle and Plato, as well as their translations into Latin, John Argyropoulos exerted a tremendous influence on the Western thought, whereupon he was named one of the greatest humanists of the Renaissance era.
He studied philosophy and theology in the University of Padua and participated in the Council of Florence when he was young. He became one of the many Greek scholars who fled from Constantinople after its fall to the Ottomans in 1453, forcing him refuge to Italy. Argyropoulos settled in Florence, where he was accepted in the Platonic Academy, a university built by Cozimo de Medici, Florence’s hegemon who wanted to disseminate the philosophy of his teacher Georgios Gemistus – Pletho, whom he admired. Cozimo entrusted his son’s education to Argyropoulos, as well as the Academy’s Department of Ancient Greek and Philosophy. Soon, he became one of Italy’s most famous academics, attracting humanists from all over the country to study next to him. Among his most notable students were Angelo Poliziano, John Filelfo, the son of Franciscus Filelfo, Donato Acciaiuoli, Leonardo DaVinci, Johannes Reuchlin and Alamanno Rinuccini.
Argyropoulos taught Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy in an innovative way; his house was always open to his students and humanists who wished to discuss and philosophize with him. For him, there were three major philosophers: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. By far the latter was his favourite. He dismissed Zoroaster and confronted Cicero for being an overrated philosopher. With his translations on the works of Aristotle to Latin, the West became acquainted with Aristotle once again, since the Roman era. He published translations, accompanied with his own commentaries on De Anima, De Caelo, De Mundo, Physica, Metaphysica, the Nicomachean Ethics, the Politics and the Organon, Aristotle’s book on logic. Furthermore, he published collections such as De Interpretione, Analytica Posteriora and Expositio Ethicorum Aristotelis. His original treatises include ecclesiastical poems and miscellaneous religious and philosophical treatises.
Argyropoulos worked tirelessly as an apostle of the Greek language and philosophy in 3 different universities throughout his lifetime. A close friend of Basileios Bessarion and a successor to Manuel Chrysoloras’ work, the philosopher became the most famous representative of Aristotelian philosophy in Italy and helped massively to restore the classical studies and connect the humanists with the Greek spirit. He died in Florence at the age of 72, in complete poverty. By the end of his life, he had gained thousands of followers both from inside and outside of Italy, who cultivated the seeds that Argyropoulos had taught them to plant and, with their turn, continued the work of John Argyropoulos and his predecessors, which led to the Renaissance.
Bibliography
- Condylis, Thanos. Αργυρόπουλος Ιωάννης. Αργολική Αρχειακή Βιβλιοθήκη Ιστορίας και Πολιστισμού. Argolikivivliothiki.gr. Web. July 26, 2011. Retrieved on January 29, 2017.
- Matula, Jozef. John Argyropoulos and his Importance for the Latin West. Univerzita Palackeho Olomouc. Academy.edu. Web. Retrieved on January 29, 2017.
