David the Invincible or David the Philosopher was a

neoplatonist Neoplatonism is a version 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 series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

philosopher of the 6th century. David was a pupil of

Olympiodorus Olympiodoros or Olympiodorus () can refer to: * Olympiodoros (military leader), son of Lampon, Athenian military commander at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC * Olympiodorus of Athens, eponymous archon of Athens in 294/3 and 293/2 BC * Olympiodo ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. His works, originally written in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, survive in medieval

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

translation, and he was given the byname of "invincible" () in the Armenian tradition, which considers David himself an Armenian. Historian Tara Andrews states that his ethnicity is uncertain. Due to confusion with other authors called David and due to an abundant body of medieval legend, almost nothing is known with certainty about the historical David. Armenian tradition makes him a native of Taron, but this is not substantiated in contemporary sources and may be due to conflation with another person. He was active in

Byzantine Egypt Roman Egypt was an imperial province of the Roman Empire from 30 BC to AD 642. The province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai. It was bordered by the provinces of Crete and Cyrenaica to the west and Judaea, l ...

, known as an expert in Aristotle's ''

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

''. He supposedly received the byname "invincible" for his exceptional oratory and argumentative skills. David is said to have returned to his native Armenia later in life, where he was active as a teacher, but he came into conflict with the Armenian church and ultimately died in exile in

Haghbat Haghpat () is a village in the Lori Province of Armenia, located near the city of Alaverdi and the state border with Georgia. The village is notable for Haghpat Monastery, a medieval monastery complex founded in the 10th century, and included in ...

. Of the number of works attributed to him, many are pseudepigraphic or doubtful. The works which can be attributed to him with certainty or at least with some plausibility are not scholarly treatises but propaedeutic (introductory) handbooks for use in teaching beginners. They were composed in Greek but survive only in Armenian translation. Philologically, these translations are important representatives of the "Hellenizing" tradition () in Armenian literature of the 6th to 8th centuries. The David Anhaght Medal, the highest-ranking medal granted by the

Armenian Academy of Philosophy Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

, is named after him. In 1978, a film about David the Invincible by Armenian director

Levon Mkrtchyan Levon Mkrtchyan (; ; born February 25, 1953, in Leninakan (now Gyumri) is an Armenian director, known for his documentary films about Armenian culture and history, such as ''Davit Anhaght'', ''Charents: Known and Unknown Sides'', ''Jean Garzu'', ...

was released by

Armenfilm Armenfilm (; ), also known as Hayfilm (), is an Armenian film studio company located in Yerevan. The studio company was founded on 16 April 1923 as a production unit of the Soviet State Cinema Organization, with Daniel Dznuni as the first directo ...

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* * * * * * * * {{Platonists 6th-century Greek philosophers Greek-language commentators on Aristotle