The Reception of Greek Ethics in Late Antiquity and Byzantium

Authored by an interdisciplinary team of experts, including historians, classicists, philosophers and theologians, this original collection of essays offers the first authoritative analysis of the multifaceted reception of Greek ethics in late antiquity and Byzantium (ca. 3rd-14th c.), opening up a hitherto under-explored topic in the history of Greek philosophy. The essays discuss the sophisticated ways in which moral themes and controversies from antiquity were reinvigorated and transformed by later authors to align with their philosophical and religious outlook in each period. Topics examined range from ethics and politics in Neoplatonism and ethos in the context of rhetorical theory and performance to textual exegesis on Aristotelian ethics. The volume will appeal to scholars and students in philosophy, classics, patristic theology, and those working on the history of education and the development of Greek ethics.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Sophia Xenophontos and Anna Marmodoro; Part I. Ethics across the Late Antique and Byzantine Period: 1. Sexual difference and the difference it makes: the Greek Fathers and their sources David Bradshaw; 2. Ethics and the hierarchy of virtues from Plotinus to Iamblichus Riccardo Chiaradonna; 3. Neoplatonic contemplative ethics: mind training Sara Ahbel-Rappe; 4. Ethics, virtue, and theurgy: on being a good person in late-Neoplatonic philosophy John F. Finamore; 5. Imitation and self-examination: the later Neoplatonists on the Platonic dialogue as moral education through visualisation Robbert M. van den Berg; 6. The reception of Greek ethics in Christian monastic writings Benjamin Blosser; 7. Understanding self-determination and moral selfhood in the sources of late-Antique and Byzantine Christian thought Demetrios Harper; 8. 'Singing with David and contemplating Agesilaus': ethical training in Byzantium Leonora Neville; Part II. Prominent Ethical Views of the Time: 9. The ethos of a theologian: Gregory of Nazianzus and the reception of Classical ethics Byron MacDougall; 10. Porphyry on justice towards animals: are animals rational and does it matter for justice? Riin Sirkel; 11. Eustratius of Nicaea and the Nicomachean Ethics in twelfth-century Constantinople: literary criticism, patronage and the construction of the Byzantine commentary tradition Michele Trizio; 12. Michael of Ephesus on the relation of civic happiness to happiness in contemplation Péter Lautner; 13. George Pachymeres' commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: a new witness to philosophical instruction and moral didacticism in late Byzantium Sophia Xenophontos.

About the Author :
Anna Marmodoro is Professor of Philosophy at Durham University and an affiliated Faculty member at the University of Oxford. Her research interests span metaphysics, ancient philosophy, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion. She has written and edited numerous books and essay collections, including Metaphysics: An Introduction to Contemporary Debates and their History (co-authored with Erasmus Mayr, 2019) and Forms and Structure in Plato's Metaphysics (forthcoming). Sophia Xenophontos is Lecturer in Classics at the University of Glasgow. She is author of Ethical Education in Plutarch: Moralising Agents and Contexts (2016) and Medicine and Practical Ethics in Galen (forthcoming), and editor of George Pachymeres' Commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (forthcoming). She has published several articles and book chapters on practical ethics, the therapy of the emotions, and the reception of the Greek ethical tradition in late Byzantium.

Review :
'These essays, highly readable and written by recognized and emerging authorities in the field, draw out the consistency and applicability of ethical questions through more than a millenium of Greek philosophy and literature. The editors skilfully bridge diverse periods and disciplines, and many contributions break new ground for future study. This collection should become a standard reference for future scholarship.' Michael Griffin, University of British Columbia '… The Reception of Greek Ethics is an inspiring collection of texts spanning beliefs and centuries of philosophy.' Jonas Christensen, Bryn Mawr Classical Review