50 years before Philoponus, two Christians from Gaza, seeking to influence Alexandrian Christians, defended the Christian belief in resurrection and the finite duration of the world, and attacked rival Neoplatonist views. Aeneas addresses an unusual version of the food chain argument against resurrection, that our bodies will get eaten by other creatures. Zacharias attacks the Platonist examples of synchronous creation, which were the production of light, of shadow, and of a footprint in the sand. A fragment survives of a third Gazan contribution by Procopius. Zacharias lampoons the Neoplatonist professor in Alexandria, Ammonius, and claims a leading role in the riot which led to the cleverest Neoplatonist, Damascius, fleeing to Athens. It was only Philoponus, however, who was able to embarrass the Neoplatonists by arguing against them on their own terms.
This volume contains an English translation of the works by Aeneas of Gaza and Zacharias of Mytilene, accompanied by a detailed introduction, explanatory notes and a bibliography.
- ISBN10 1472500989
- ISBN13 9781472500984
- Publish Date 10 January 2013
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
- Format eBook
- Pages 192
- Language English