The missing link of the «Golden Chain»: Aedesius and the neoplatonic school of Pergamon

• Main Author: Michael Vedeshkin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hypothekai 2019-06-01
• Series: Hypothekai
• Subjects: Pergamon School; Neoplatonic school of Pergamon
• Online Access: http://www.hypothekai.ru/images/339-345_List.pdf

This article is devoted to the study of the Neoplatonic school of Pergamon, its teachers and students. The paper presents an attempt to reconstruct the biography of the scholarch Aedesius. It is hypothesized that the fear of reprisals from the Christian authorities, made Aedesius quit any active participation in social and political life of the empire and devote himself entirely to teaching. Some chronological calculations show that he couldn’t have died before 355 AD (as it is usually stated) and should have lived up to 358 AD at least. An attempt to reconstruct the school’s philosophical curriculum on the basis of an analysis of the testimonies of Julian the Apostate, Eunapius of Sardis and the subsequent commentary tradition is made. It is concluded that theurgic practices were not as significant in the life of the school of Aedesius as it is usually stated. Some objections are made to the theory that a female philosopher and prophetess Sosipatra played an important role in the life of the Pergamon school. In this regard, I criticize the common opinion, that the education in the Pergamon school had a pronounced «mystical-religious» character. The conclusion is made that the curriculum of Aedesius’ school was almost no different from the curriculums of other schools of late Neo-Platonism. The article ends with an overview of the fates of graduates of the school (Maximus of Ephesus, Priscus of Epirus and Chrysanthius of Sardis). It is also suggested that Eusebius of Mindus became the heir and successor of Aedesius as the scholarch of the Pergamon School.