Olimpiodoro d'Alessandria

Olympiodorus was the last pagan intellectual to hold between 527 and 567 the philosophy chair at the University of Alexandria in Egypt, an institution that in the age of Justinian represented the most prestigious cultural center of the Empire. He was probably the last philosopher to teach the Platonic curriculum in accordance with the canon of Jamblichus. His extant Commentaries are the only surviving works on Plato coming from the academic milieu of the ancient Egyptian capital. This two-volume edition collects for the first time all the Commentaries dedicated to Plato by Olympiodorus of Alexandria, along with the anonymous Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy, often attributed to him, which provides an enlightening philosophical preface to his exegetical works. Olympiodorus' Commentaries to Plato's Alcibiades, Gorgias and Phaedo appear for the first time in integral Italian translation, accompanied by the full Greek text as well as by extensive introductory essays and explanatory notes. Thanks to its broad scope, this edition offers not only a comprehensive account of Olympiodorus' theoretical achievements, but also valuable evidence of the teaching contents of the Platonic curriculum as it was taught at the Universities of the 6th century CE.Book's language: Italian commentary and translation, accompanied by the full Greek text.Volume 1 is published with the ISBN 978-3-89665-684-1.