Damascius | |
---|---|
Δαμάσκιος | |
Born | 462[1] |
Died | 538 |
Nationality | Byzantine Empire Sasanian Empire |
Years active | 458-533 |
Damascius (/dəˈmæʃəs/; Greek: Δαμάσκιος, c. 462[1] – after 538), known as "the last of the Athenian Neoplatonists", was the last scholarch of the neoplatonic Athenian school. He was one of the neoplatonic philosophers who left Athens after laws confirmed by emperor Justinian I forced the closure of the Athenian school in c. 529 AD. After he left Athens, he may have sought refuge in the court of the Persian King Chrosroes, before being allowed back into the Byzantine Empire. His surviving works consist of three commentaries on the works of Plato, and a metaphysical text entitled Difficulties and Solutions of First Principles.