Philosopher, Physicist (c.458 – c.538)
The last of the Neoplatonists and the last headmaster of the Academy of Athens before its closure by Emperor Justinian in 529. Damascius of Damascus was primarily involved with Platonic philosophy, physics, metaphysics and astronomy and had significant influence in the Neoplatonic movement of philosophy during an era when the Ancient Greek flame was slowly dwindling and the Byzantine Empire was undergoing its first steps.
Damascius studied philosophy and astronomy 3 years in Egypt under his tutor, Theon. He was also a student of Isidore and Ammonius Saccas and served as director of the rhetoric school of Alexandria for 9 years. He continued his studies in Athens, under the guidance of Marinus, Proclus’ biographer and Zenodotus. He then became a scholar in the Academy of Athens and assumed its directory. There, he taught philosophy, rhetoric and astronomy at the time when Proclus was alive, until the Academy was closed and its property seized by Emperor Justinian. Damascius departed from Athens together with 6 of his colleagues and settled in the courtyard of King Chosroes. He remained there for 2 years until departing again for Greece due to the low level of intellectuality there. Simplicius was one of his students.
Damascius wrote commentaries on the works of Plato. These were based on their interpretation by Proclus. These include commentaries on Plato’s Phaedon, Parmenides, Philebus, Timaeus – Critias as well as commentaries on some of Aristotle’s works such as De Coelo, Physica etc. He did not limit himself on writing solely commentaries. His chief original treatise Difficulties and Solutions of First Principle deals with the nature of God and the soul. It is influenced by the Neoplatonic wave of Plotinus and Proclus. Damascius continues in this flow and asserts that the One (God) is connected with the Being and Nous (Mind). He attempts to discover the first principle of the world, the One of Plotinus and concludes that there exists a principle beyond the nature of reality that man cannot perceive with his senses and that it cannot be expressed. It is holy, divine, inconceivable and indescribable. For Damascius, the One creates the Being. Furthermore, he wrote books on astronomy, most importantly Paradoxa, which deals with the heat of the sun, the solar system and the galaxy.
Damascius’ influence on philosophy was significant. However, his treatises were and still remain very difficult for philosophers and scientists to understand. Few have been able to grasp the true meaning of his philosophical system, which is involved with metaphysics. Only recently was it revealed from Stelios Giannoulis, Professor of Theoretical Physics and assistant of Nobel-prize laureate Werner Heizenberg that, according to the latter’s own accounts, Werner Heizenberg’s teachings on the existence of multiple universes, one existing inside the other, with varying temperatures and velocities were borrowed from Damascius. Today, Damascius has been recognized as one of the greatest philosophic thinkers of humanity during the downfall of Ancient Greece.
Bibliography
- ΕΛΛΑΣ-ΑΦΥΠΝΙΣΗ-ΤΩΡΑ. «ΕΠΑΝΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΙΣ» με τον Κωνσταντίνο Πλεύρη 21/02/2017. Youtube. February 21, 2017. Web. Retrieved on March 10, 2017.
- Δαμάσκιος. Η Εγκυκλοπαίδεια του Πλάτωνα. Xtek.gr. Web. Retrieved on March 10, 2017.
- Georgakopoulos, Konstantinos. Ancient Greek Scientists. Georgiades: Athens, 1995. Print.
- Pleures, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron Publications, 2014. Print.