1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910777022303321

Autore

Wear Sarah Klitenic

Titolo

Dionysius the Areopagite and the Neoplatonist Tradition : Despoiling the Hellenes

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Milton, : Taylor and Francis, 2017

ISBN

9780826186735

1-138-61941-8

1-351-15984-4

1-351-15982-8

1-281-09873-6

9786611098735

0-7546-8709-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (153 p.)

Collana

Ashgate studies in philosophy & theology in late antiquity

Disciplina

230/.14092

Soggetti

Neoplatonism

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [135]-140) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Contents; Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations; 1 Introduction; 2 God as Monad in the Divine Names; 3 God as Trinity in the Divine Names; 4 On Hierarchy; 5 The Problem of Evil; 6 Scriptural Interpretation [Theoria] as Onomastic Theurgy; 7 Hierourgia and Theourgia in Sacramental Activity; 8 Union and Return to God: The Mystical Theology and the First Hypothesis of the Parmenides; 9 Conclusion; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

"'Dionysius the Areopagite' is arguably one of the most mysterious and intriguing figures to emerge from the late antique world. Writing probably around 500 CE, and possibly connected with the circle of Severus of Antioch, Dionysius manipulates a Platonic metaphysics to describe a hierarchical universe: as with the Hellenic Platonists, he arranges the celestial and material cosmos into a series of triadic strata. These strata emanate from one unified being and contain beings that range from superior to inferior, depending on their proximity to God. Not only do all things in the hierarchy participate in God, but also all things are inter-connected, so that the lower hierarchies fully



participate in the higher ones. This metaphysics lends itself to a sacramental system similar to that of the Hellenic ritual, theurgy. Theurgy allows humans to reach the divine by examining the divine as it exists in creation. Although Dionysius' metaphysics and religion are similar to that of Iamblichus and Proclus in many ways, Pseudo-Dionysius differs fundamentally in his use of an ecclesiastical cosmos, rather than that of the Platonic Timaean cosmos of the Hellenes. This book discusses the Christian Platonist's adaptation of Hellenic metaphysics, language, and religious ritual. While Dionysius clearly works within the Hellenic tradition, he innovates to integrate Hellenic and Christian thought."--Provided by publisher.