Philosopher, Theologist, Scholar (1572 – 1658)
Ioannis Kottounios (also spelled Johannes Cottunius) was an eminent humanist and scholar of the Renaissance. He occupied high academic positions in the Italian academia and was responsible, together with other great Greek humanists, for disseminating the Hellenism to the West that had fallen after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.
He was called the “Macedonian Sage”, because of origin from Beroia. He studied in the Greek College of Rome, where he was appointed professor of philosophy in 1613 and in the University of Padua, where he received his doctorate on philosophy and medicine. Kottounios taught Greek philosophy in the University of Bologna and University of Padua. In addition, he taught poetry, rhetoric, politics, theology and most importantly Plato and Aristotle, including Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics.
Kottounios was a neo-Aristotelian philosopher and a prolific writer, who wrote many treatises on the works of Aristotle. His original work Greek Epigrams is a commentary on the works of Aristotle, which was used to introduce the West with Aristotelian philosophy. It is the only book that was written in Greek. The rest of the books, written in Latin, are also commentaries based on the works of Aristotle, such as Lectiones in Primum Aristotelis de Meteoris,Commentarii lucidissimi in tres Aristotelis libros De Anima, Expositio Universale Logicae and many others. Other books written by Kottounios concern Greek history and mythology.
In 1653 he founded the Cottounian College, a school that provided free food and shelter to Greek immigrants who sought for scholarship. The Hellenomuseum, as it came to be known, would also provide Greeks with Greek and Orthodox education.
Kottounios’ work had tremendous influence on West thought. A polymath and polyglot, he is recognized today for his contributions to the Renaissance and his efforts to help the subjugated Greeks. Today, a bust of him is found in the campus of the University of Bologna.
Bibliography
- Leontsini, Eleni G. Η ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΙΑ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟ 16Ο ΚΑΙ 17Ο ΑΙΩΝΑ:ΧΡΙΣΤΟΦΟΡΟΣ ΚΟΝΤΟΛΕΩΝ, ΙΩΑΝΝΗΣ ΚΩΤΤΟΥΝΙΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΚΥΘΗΡΩΝ ΜΑΞΙΜΟΣ ΜΑΡΓΟΥΝΙΟΣ. ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΟΝΙΚΗ ΕΡΕΥΝΑ ΣΤΑ ΚΥΘΗΡΑ. ΑΝΟΙΚΤΟ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΔΗΜΟΥ ΚΥΘΗΡΩΝ.academia.edu. Web. Retrieved on March 21, 2017.
- Το ήξερες; Ποιος σπουδαίος Βεροιώτης είναι ο εικονιζόμενος;. veriotis.gr. Web. Retrieved on March 21, 2017
