Asclepigenia ( grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιγένεια; fl. 430 – 485 AD) was an

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and mystic.

Biography

Asclepigenia was the daughter of

Plutarch of Athens Plutarch of Athens ( el, Πλούταρχος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος; c. 350 – 430 AD) was a Greek philosopher and Neoplatonist who taught in Athens at the beginning of the 5th century. He reestablished the Platonic Academy there and became its ...

. She studied and taught, alongside her brother

Hierius Hierius ( el, Ἱέριος) was a Neoplatonist philosopher, a son of Plutarch of Athens, and brother of Asclepigenia Asclepigenia ( grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιγένεια; fl. 430 – 485 AD) was an Athenian philosopher and mystic. Biography Asc ...

, at the

Neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...

school of Athens. The school contended with the more scientific school in Alexandria.Waithe, Mary Ellen (1987) ''A History of Women Philosophers. Ancient Women Philosophers 600 B.C. – 500 A.D.'' Dordrecht: Kluwer. Like other Neoplatonists of the time, she mainly studied

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

and

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

, but also her father’s own philosophy. She lived in a historical context of turmoil due to the conflict between Neoplatonic metaphysics, which was taught in Plutarch’s academy, and Christianity, which had been gaining in popularity at the time.

’ philosophy worked to unify the teachings of Aristotle and Plato, and by doing so brought together the opposing pagan ideas of

theurgy Theurgy (; ) describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action or evoking the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis (uniting wi ...

and mysticism (magic), which he had learned from his father, Nestorius, and then passed that knowledge onto Asclepigenia."Asclepigenia."
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. After Plutarch’s death, she inherited the school as well as how it was to go about teaching its students. Being an acclaimed philosopher at the school in Athens, Asclepigenia went on to teach

Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...

, who became her best known student. She taught him not only the philosophies of Aristotle and Plato, but included teachings her father had passed solely on to her before his passing, in the arts of theurgy and pagan mysticism. Being the expert in the theurgy, Asclepigenia taught from a metaphysical approach. She believed in there being five realms of reality: the One, Nature, Matter, Soul, and Intelligence. Like her father, she believed that every soul held a divine part inside itself, and that a union with the One, combined with magic, pagan thought of the deities, and meditation could result in true happiness for a person, as a way they could control their own fate. Her teachings to Proclus on theurgy, benefited him greatly as he went on to think and develop his own ideas. He also supposedly was able to practice theurgy in such a way that it cured his friend’s daughter, by use of a divine intervention with one of the gods.https://www.britannica.com/biography/Asclepigenia Print. Asclepigenia continued to teach at the Academy after Proclus went on to perfect his theurgical thoughts and practices. Her most well known achievements were in the arts and practicing rituals in the Chaldean mysticism of theurgy, as well as exceptional thought in Platonic philosophy. She passed along many of Aristotle and Plato’s teachings to multiple students, including Plutarch. Her reverence in philosophy, as well as an astute female teacher, only adds to the value and importance of who she was in the Greek world. She contributed greatly to the development of Neoplatonic metaphysics and worked alongside many great philosophers, including her brother Hiero. Her advancements have impacted future thought on the practices of theurgy, as well as the arts and magic of the Chaldean mysticism. She is said to have died in the year 485 A.D.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asclepigenia 5th-century Byzantine people 5th-century philosophers Ancient Greek women philosophers Neoplatonists in Athens Roman-era philosophers Roman-era Athenian women Roman-era Athenian philosophers 5th-century Byzantine women Late-Roman-era pagans