Asclepiodotus ( el, Ἀσκληπιόδοτος) of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

was a

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 id ...

philosopher who lived in the second half of the 5th century. He studied under Proclus in

Athens 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 ...

, but eventually moved to

Aphrodisias Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small ancient Greek Hellenistic city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the ...

, where he maintained a philosophy school jointly with another man also called Asclepiodotus, whose daughter, Damiane, he married. Asclepiodotus also taught

Damascius Damascius (; grc-gre, Δαμάσκιος, 458 – 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 ...

, who describes him in disparaging terms, in part because of his disregard for

oracular An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ''or ...

lore:

Asclepiodotus' mind was not perfect, as most people thought. He was extremely sharp at raising questions, but not so acute in his understanding. His was an uneven intelligence, especially when it came to divine matters - the invisible and intelligible concept of Plato's lofty thought. Even more wanting was he in the field of higher wisdom - the
Orphic Orphism (more rarely Orphicism; grc, Ὀρφικά, Orphiká) is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices originating in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus ...
and Chaldean lore which transcends common sense.Damascius, PH fr. 85 A, from Athanassiadi, P., Frede M., (1999), ''Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity'' Oxford University Press.

He and his wife visited the

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

Menouthis Menouthis was a sacred city in ancient Egypt, devoted to the Egyptian goddess Isis and god Serapis. The city was probably submerged under the sea as a result of catastrophic natural causes: earthquakes or Nile flood. Land in the bay area was s ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, in order to cure her

childlessness Childlessness is the state of not having children. Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance. Childlessness, which may be by choice or circumstance, is distinguished from voluntary childlessness, which is voluntarily havi ...

. A baby was produced, but the local

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

claimed it had been bought from a priestess, and used the affair as a pretext to destroy the shrine. He also wrote a commentary on

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 ...

's ''Timaeus'', which does not survive.

Notes

References

* * * Bury, et al., (1925), ''The Cambridge Ancient History'', pages 852–853. Cambridge University Press. * Andron, Cosmin (2008), "Asklepiodotos of Alexandria
''The Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists''
eds. Georgia Irby-Massie and Paul Keyser, Routledge. 5th-century Greek philosophers Roman-era Alexandrians Commentators on Plato Neoplatonists in Athens Roman-era students in Athens Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Year of death unknown Place of death unknown 5th-century Byzantine writers Philosophers in ancient Alexandria {{AncientGreece-philosopher-stub