The Neoplatonist ‘School of Pergamon’: Philosophy and Politics in the Fourth Century ad

Abstract

This chapter focuses on philosophy and politics during the early and mid-fourth century AD. The Neoplatonist schools in Pergamon had a significant impact on debates about law, politics, and rulership which involved figures such as Themistius and Julian. The extant sources suggest that the Neoplatonist schools in Pergamon were not underground circles centred on religious practices. There was no single orthodoxy, but different positions and debates within a commonly shared school background shaped by the interpretation of authoritative texts and by the use of sophisticated argumentative methods. For those who supported theurgy, philosophy culminated in a suprarational experience, but this outcome was not meant to supplant traditional teaching. The geographical space of fourth century Neoplatonists is located in the East and this situation is completely different not only from the time of Galen, but also from the time of Plotinus and Porphyry in the late third century