Hermann Diels (1848 - 1922) et la science de l'antiquité : huit exposés suivis de discussions, Vandoeuvres, Genève 17 - 21 août 1998, 1999
By: Calder, William M. (Ed.), Mansfeld, Jaap (Ed.)
Title Hermann Diels (1848 - 1922) et la science de l'antiquité : huit exposés suivis de discussions, Vandoeuvres, Genève 17 - 21 août 1998
Type Edited Book
Language undefined
Date 1999
Publication Place Genève
Publisher Fondation Hardt
Series Entretiens sur l’antiquité classique
Volume 45
Categories no categories
Author(s)
Editor(s) Calder, William M. , Mansfeld, Jaap
Translator(s)

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Diels' Vorsokratiker, Rückschau und Ausblick, 1999
By: Mansfeld, Jaap (Ed.), Calder, William M. (Ed.), Burkert, Walter
Title Diels' Vorsokratiker, Rückschau und Ausblick
Type Book Section
Language German
Date 1999
Published in Hermann Diels (1848 - 1922) et la science de l'antiquité : huit exposés suivis de discussions, Vandoeuvres, Genève 17 - 21 août 1998
Pages 169-197
Categories no categories
Author(s) Burkert, Walter
Editor(s) Mansfeld, Jaap , Calder, William M.
Translator(s)

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Prolegomena: Questions to Be Settled Before the Study of an Author, or a Text, 1994
By: Mansfeld, Jaap
Title Prolegomena: Questions to Be Settled Before the Study of an Author, or a Text
Type Monograph
Language English
Date 1994
Publication Place Leiden
Publisher Brill
Series Philosophia Antiqua
Volume 61
Categories no categories
Author(s) Mansfeld, Jaap
Editor(s)
Translator(s)
Mansfeld1994

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Review of: Tardieu 1990: Routes et haltes syriennes d'Isidore à Simplicius, 1993
By: Mansfeld, Jaap
Title Review of: Tardieu 1990: Routes et haltes syriennes d'Isidore à Simplicius
Type Article
Language English
Date 1993
Journal Mnemosyne
Volume 46
Issue 4
Pages 572–575
Categories no categories
Author(s) Mansfeld, Jaap
Editor(s)
Translator(s)
A learned book that reads like a novel. It contains fascinating new information on the late Neoplatonists. "Paysages reliques" refers to exceptionally rare landscapes or, rather, sites in an otherwise overwhelmingly Christianized world where pagan divinities are still present. In the first chapter, T. reconstructs the pilgrimage of Isidorus and Damascius to Bostra, and from Bostra to a site in Syria east of Gadara, where they believed the waters of Styx could be seen. These waters were still venerated by the local population in the old pagan way. Commenting on the fragments of Damascius' Life of Isidorus pertaining to this trip, T., among other things, shows in what ways the description of the numinous site was idealized and how it echoes descriptions in Homer, Plato, and others of similar entrances to the netherworld. In the second chapter, T. offers a marvelous history of navigation on the Tigris, from Assyrian times until just before World War II, by means of the so-called kālek, a wooden construction kept afloat by inflated animal skins (e.g., sheep skins). He does so because an absolutely unique reference to this means of transport is found in Simplicius’ In De Caelo 525.10–3 Heiberg, who, explaining a point made by Aristotle, tells us that inflated skins are capable of supporting heavy loads (... ?? ?pe?????? ?a? ??? ?at? t?? ????a? p?ta???). This is the Habur, a tributary of the Euphrates. In chapter 3, T. attempts to ferret out the implications of this statement. Several of the numerous sources of this river, mentioned by the elder Pliny and Aelianus, were believed to be sacred to the Syrian goddess and venerated by the local population; the Syrian goddess, in turn, was supposed to be the equivalent of Hera. T. also reproduces descriptions of these sites by later visitors who wrote in Arabic. In antiquity, travel on the Habur was possible by means of small kāleks. T. hypothesizes (without direct evidence) that Simplicius visited these sources for religious and philosophical reasons and that, in fact, his trip was a pilgrimage comparable to that of Isidorus and Damascius one century earlier. After his visit to the sources, Simplicius could have traveled downstream by kālek himself. T. argues (pp. 130 ff.) that this journey has nothing to do with the famous story of the sojourn of the seven philosophers in Persia after the closing of the Academy by Julian. He assumes that not the whole group of seven philosophers mentioned by Agathias (Hist. II c. 30–31 Keydell), but only Damascius, "métaphysicien globe-trotter au service du paganisme," went to Persia in 531, was received by the king of kings, and secured the inclusion of the famous clause in the peace treaty permitting pagan philosophers to live according to their own ways. T.’s argument seems to be that Agathias (our only source, however) was biased and that Simplicius would have mentioned the kāleks of the Tigris if he had made the journey downriver to the Persian capital himself. The sources of the Habur are three days by foot to the east of Harran (better known to classicists as Carrhae), an important city near the Persian frontier and perhaps the last stronghold of paganism in the Greco-Roman world. In a paper published in 1986, T. convincingly argued that the so-called Sabians of Harran, who were visited by al-Mas‘udi around 940 and whose main doctrine is described in a fragment of al-Kindi, were (Neo-)Platonists. He assumed that Harran was the safe haven granted to the philosophers after the treaty of 532 and that it was there, not in Athens, that Simplicius wrote his great commentaries on Aristotle. In a second paper published the following year, T. proved that of the four calendars mentioned in Simpl. In Phys. 875.19 ff. Diels, three were actually used simultaneously in Harran and only there, whereas the first listed (the Athenian) must have been observed in the Platonic school. In chapter 4 of the present book ("D'un commentaire à l'autre"), T. is able to add to the circumstantial evidence supporting the hypothesis that Simplicius lived and wrote in Harran after 532. First, at In Phys. 684.35 ff., he points out that many people crossed rivers using inflated animal skins, as indeed they did in the regions of the Habur and the Tigris (typically one skin per person). Secondly, at In Cat. 358.12 ff. Busse, his examples of compound nouns with a single meaning are Hierapolis and Agathodaimon; these are unparalleled elsewhere. T. plausibly argues (pp. 153 ff.) that the city in question is Hierapolis in Syria, two days by foot west of Harran. Agathodaimon is Hermes' divine teacher in the Corpus Hermeticum. T. points out (pp. 158 ff.) that the pagans of Harran, according to a fragment of al-Kindi, possessed Hermetic writings. Al-Sarahsi, who transmits this information, adds that they venerated Agathodaimon. Thirdly, a passage at In Phys. 641.33 ff. allows T. to argue that Simplicius refers here to a Hermetic identification of the Syrian goddess Atargatis with Isis. T.'s main argument, presented with admirable clarity, is on the whole convincing. That we are now much better informed about the ways in which Greek philosophy reached the Arabs is a major step forward. Yet one should keep in mind that nothing so far is known of a Neoplatonist school or tradition at Harran before Simplicius, and that there is a considerable gap between him and the Platonists visited by al-Mas‘udi several centuries later. Though continuity is plausible, evidence is lacking. Perhaps T. could have said more about Hermetism at Harran, which was presumably incorporated into Neoplatonism. M. Grignaschi has argued that what he calls a late Greek "epistolary novel" (5th century), containing an exchange of letters between Alexander and Aristotle, was amplified and revised by what he terms (on what appears to be thin evidence) a follower of Hermes who wrote in Arabic in the 7th–8th century at Harran. An investigation by a qualified Orientalist (why not T. himself?) into the relation between the traditions studied by Grignaschi and the facts unearthed by T. may produce surprising results—or so one surmises. [the entire review]

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It contains fascinating new information on the late Neoplatonists. \"Paysages reliques\" refers to exceptionally rare landscapes or, rather, sites in an otherwise overwhelmingly Christianized world where pagan divinities are still present. In the first chapter, T. reconstructs the pilgrimage of Isidorus and Damascius to Bostra, and from Bostra to a site in Syria east of Gadara, where they believed the waters of Styx could be seen. These waters were still venerated by the local population in the old pagan way. Commenting on the fragments of Damascius' Life of Isidorus pertaining to this trip, T., among other things, shows in what ways the description of the numinous site was idealized and how it echoes descriptions in Homer, Plato, and others of similar entrances to the netherworld.\r\n\r\nIn the second chapter, T. offers a marvelous history of navigation on the Tigris, from Assyrian times until just before World War II, by means of the so-called k\u0101lek, a wooden construction kept afloat by inflated animal skins (e.g., sheep skins). He does so because an absolutely unique reference to this means of transport is found in Simplicius\u2019 In De Caelo 525.10\u20133 Heiberg, who, explaining a point made by Aristotle, tells us that inflated skins are capable of supporting heavy loads (... ?? ?pe?????? ?a? ??? ?at? t?? ????a? p?ta???). This is the Habur, a tributary of the Euphrates. In chapter 3, T. attempts to ferret out the implications of this statement. Several of the numerous sources of this river, mentioned by the elder Pliny and Aelianus, were believed to be sacred to the Syrian goddess and venerated by the local population; the Syrian goddess, in turn, was supposed to be the equivalent of Hera. T. also reproduces descriptions of these sites by later visitors who wrote in Arabic. In antiquity, travel on the Habur was possible by means of small k\u0101leks. T. hypothesizes (without direct evidence) that Simplicius visited these sources for religious and philosophical reasons and that, in fact, his trip was a pilgrimage comparable to that of Isidorus and Damascius one century earlier. After his visit to the sources, Simplicius could have traveled downstream by k\u0101lek himself.\r\n\r\nT. argues (pp. 130 ff.) that this journey has nothing to do with the famous story of the sojourn of the seven philosophers in Persia after the closing of the Academy by Julian. He assumes that not the whole group of seven philosophers mentioned by Agathias (Hist. II c. 30\u201331 Keydell), but only Damascius, \"m\u00e9taphysicien globe-trotter au service du paganisme,\" went to Persia in 531, was received by the king of kings, and secured the inclusion of the famous clause in the peace treaty permitting pagan philosophers to live according to their own ways. T.\u2019s argument seems to be that Agathias (our only source, however) was biased and that Simplicius would have mentioned the k\u0101leks of the Tigris if he had made the journey downriver to the Persian capital himself.\r\n\r\nThe sources of the Habur are three days by foot to the east of Harran (better known to classicists as Carrhae), an important city near the Persian frontier and perhaps the last stronghold of paganism in the Greco-Roman world. In a paper published in 1986, T. convincingly argued that the so-called Sabians of Harran, who were visited by al-Mas\u2018udi around 940 and whose main doctrine is described in a fragment of al-Kindi, were (Neo-)Platonists. He assumed that Harran was the safe haven granted to the philosophers after the treaty of 532 and that it was there, not in Athens, that Simplicius wrote his great commentaries on Aristotle. In a second paper published the following year, T. proved that of the four calendars mentioned in Simpl. In Phys. 875.19 ff. Diels, three were actually used simultaneously in Harran and only there, whereas the first listed (the Athenian) must have been observed in the Platonic school.\r\n\r\nIn chapter 4 of the present book (\"D'un commentaire \u00e0 l'autre\"), T. is able to add to the circumstantial evidence supporting the hypothesis that Simplicius lived and wrote in Harran after 532. First, at In Phys. 684.35 ff., he points out that many people crossed rivers using inflated animal skins, as indeed they did in the regions of the Habur and the Tigris (typically one skin per person). Secondly, at In Cat. 358.12 ff. Busse, his examples of compound nouns with a single meaning are Hierapolis and Agathodaimon; these are unparalleled elsewhere. T. plausibly argues (pp. 153 ff.) that the city in question is Hierapolis in Syria, two days by foot west of Harran. Agathodaimon is Hermes' divine teacher in the Corpus Hermeticum. T. points out (pp. 158 ff.) that the pagans of Harran, according to a fragment of al-Kindi, possessed Hermetic writings. Al-Sarahsi, who transmits this information, adds that they venerated Agathodaimon. Thirdly, a passage at In Phys. 641.33 ff. allows T. to argue that Simplicius refers here to a Hermetic identification of the Syrian goddess Atargatis with Isis.\r\n\r\nT.'s main argument, presented with admirable clarity, is on the whole convincing. That we are now much better informed about the ways in which Greek philosophy reached the Arabs is a major step forward. Yet one should keep in mind that nothing so far is known of a Neoplatonist school or tradition at Harran before Simplicius, and that there is a considerable gap between him and the Platonists visited by al-Mas\u2018udi several centuries later. Though continuity is plausible, evidence is lacking. Perhaps T. could have said more about Hermetism at Harran, which was presumably incorporated into Neoplatonism. M. Grignaschi has argued that what he calls a late Greek \"epistolary novel\" (5th century), containing an exchange of letters between Alexander and Aristotle, was amplified and revised by what he terms (on what appears to be thin evidence) a follower of Hermes who wrote in Arabic in the 7th\u20138th century at Harran. An investigation by a qualified Orientalist (why not T. himself?) into the relation between the traditions studied by Grignaschi and the facts unearthed by T. may produce surprising results\u2014or so one surmises. [the entire review]","btype":3,"date":"1993","language":"English","online_url":"","online_resources":"https:\/\/uni-koeln.sciebo.de\/s\/fu8N5kakur5o7NI","doi_url":null,"categories":[],"authors":[{"id":29,"full_name":"Mansfeld, Jaap","role":{"id":1,"role_name":"author"}}],"book":null,"booksection":null,"article":{"id":1010,"journal_id":null,"journal_name":"Mnemosyne","volume":"46","issue":"4","pages":"572\u2013575"}},"sort":[1993]}

Physikai doxai and Problēmata physika from Aristotle to Aëtius (and Beyond), 1992
By: Mansfeld, Jaap, Fortenbaugh, William W. (Ed.), Gutas, Dimitri (Ed.)
Title Physikai doxai and Problēmata physika from Aristotle to Aëtius (and Beyond)
Type Book Section
Language English
Date 1992
Published in Theophrastus. His Psychological, Doxographical and Scientific Writings
Pages 63-111
Categories no categories
Author(s) Mansfeld, Jaap
Editor(s) Fortenbaugh, William W. , Gutas, Dimitri
Translator(s)
In Theophrastus’ bibliography at Diog. Laërt. V 48 the title is given in the genitive, Φυσικών δοξών, which means that the intended nominative may have been either Φυσικών δόξαι (The Tenets of the Philosophers of Nature) or Φυσικαί δόξαι (The Tenets in Natural Philosophy). Scholars have been divided over this issue; although the majority have followed Usener and Diels, there are a number of noteworthy exceptions.8 What we have here is by no means a minor problem, because the precise meaning of the title is influential in determining our impression of what the book was about. In the present paper, I shall try to demonstrate, in various ways, that the book-title has to be Φυσικάι δόξαι. [p. 64]

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","short_ident":"","is_classical_name":null,"dnb_url":"http:\/\/d-nb.info\/gnd\/110233700","viaf_url":"","db_url":"","from_claudius":null}},{"id":1527,"entry_id":1011,"agent_type":null,"is_normalised":null,"person_id":379,"institution_id":null,"role":{"id":2,"role_name":"editor"},"free_name":"Gutas, Dimitri","free_first_name":"Dimitri","free_last_name":"Gutas","norm_person":{"id":379,"first_name":"Dimitri","last_name":"Gutas","full_name":"Gutas, Dimitri","short_ident":"","is_classical_name":null,"dnb_url":"http:\/\/d-nb.info\/gnd\/122946243","viaf_url":"","db_url":"","from_claudius":null}}],"entry_title":"Physikai doxai and Probl\u0113mata physika from Aristotle to A\u00ebtius (and Beyond)","main_title":{"title":"Physikai doxai and Probl\u0113mata physika from Aristotle to A\u00ebtius (and Beyond)"},"abstract":"In Theophrastus\u2019 bibliography at Diog. La\u00ebrt. V 48 the title is given in the \r\ngenitive, \u03a6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03ce\u03bd \u03b4\u03bf\u03be\u03ce\u03bd, which means that the intended nominative may have \r\nbeen either \u03a6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03ce\u03bd \u03b4\u03cc\u03be\u03b1\u03b9 (The Tenets of the Philosophers of Nature) or \r\n\u03a6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03af \u03b4\u03cc\u03be\u03b1\u03b9 (The Tenets in Natural Philosophy). Scholars have been divided \r\nover this issue; although the majority have followed Usener and Diels, there are \r\na number of noteworthy exceptions.8 What we have here is by no means a \r\nminor problem, because the precise meaning of the title is influential in \r\ndetermining our impression of what the book was about. In the present paper, \r\nI shall try to demonstrate, in various ways, that the book-title has to be \u03a6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03ac\u03b9\r\n\u03b4\u03cc\u03be\u03b1\u03b9. [p. 64]","btype":2,"date":"1992","language":"English","online_url":"","online_resources":"https:\/\/uni-koeln.sciebo.de\/s\/va3DLcPD91tJsO7","doi_url":null,"categories":[],"authors":[{"id":29,"full_name":"Mansfeld, Jaap","role":{"id":1,"role_name":"author"}},{"id":7,"full_name":"Fortenbaugh, William W. ","role":{"id":2,"role_name":"editor"}},{"id":379,"full_name":"Gutas, Dimitri","role":{"id":2,"role_name":"editor"}}],"book":null,"booksection":{"id":1011,"section_of":294,"pages":"63-111","is_catalog":null,"book":{"id":294,"bilderberg_idno":null,"dare_idno":null,"catalog_idno":null,"entry_type":null,"type":4,"language":"en","title":"Theophrastus. His Psychological, Doxographical and Scientific Writings","title_transcript":"","title_translation":"","short_title":"Fortenbaugh1992","has_no_author":null,"volume":null,"date":"1992","edition_no":null,"free_date":"1992","abstract":"Theophrastus of Eresus was Aristotle's pupil and successor as head of the Peripatetic School. He is best known as the author of the amusing Characters and two ground-breaking works in botany, but his writings extend over the entire range of Hellenistic philosophic studies. Volume 5 of Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities focuses on his scientific work. The volume contains new editions of two brief scientific essays-On Fish and Afeteoro\/o^y-accompanied by translations and commentary.\r\n\r\nAmong the contributions are: \"Peripatetic Dialectic in the De sensibus,\" Han Baltussen; \"Empedocles\" Theory of Vision and Theophrastus' De sensibus,\" David N. Sedley; \"Theophrastus on the Intellect,\" Daniel Devereux; \"Theophrastus and Aristotle on Animal Intelligence,\" Eve Browning Cole; \"Physikai doxai and Problemata physika from Aristotle to Agtius (and Beyond),\" Jap Mansfield; \"Xenophanes or Theophrastus? An Aetian Doxographicum on the Sun,\" David Runia; \"Place1 in Context: On Theophrastus, Fr. 21 and 22 Wimmer,\" Keimpe Algra; \"The Meteorology of Theophrastus in Syriac and Arabic Translation,\" Hans Daiber; \"Theophrastus' Meteorology, Aristotle and Posidonius,\" Ian G. Kidd; \"The Authorship and Sources of the Peri Semeion Ascribed to Theophrastus,\" Patrick Cronin; \"Theophrastus, On Fish\" Robert W. Sharpies.","republication_of":null,"online_url":"","online_resources":"https:\/\/uni-koeln.sciebo.de\/s\/CJh1bdWfrxsEkZy","translation_of":null,"new_edition_of":null,"is_catalog":0,"in_bibliography":0,"is_inactive":0,"notes":null,"doi_url":null,"book":{"id":294,"pubplace":"New Brunswick","publisher":"Transaction Publers","series":"Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities","volume":"5","edition_no":"","valid_from":null,"valid_until":null}}},"article":null},"sort":[1992]}

  • PAGE 1 OF 1
Diels' Vorsokratiker, Rückschau und Ausblick, 1999
By: Mansfeld, Jaap (Ed.), Calder, William M. (Ed.), Burkert, Walter
Title Diels' Vorsokratiker, Rückschau und Ausblick
Type Book Section
Language German
Date 1999
Published in Hermann Diels (1848 - 1922) et la science de l'antiquité : huit exposés suivis de discussions, Vandoeuvres, Genève 17 - 21 août 1998
Pages 169-197
Categories no categories
Author(s) , Burkert, Walter
Editor(s) Mansfeld, Jaap , Calder, William M.
Translator(s)

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Hermann Diels (1848 - 1922) et la science de l'antiquité : huit exposés suivis de discussions, Vandoeuvres, Genève 17 - 21 août 1998, 1999
By: Calder, William M. (Ed.), Mansfeld, Jaap (Ed.)
Title Hermann Diels (1848 - 1922) et la science de l'antiquité : huit exposés suivis de discussions, Vandoeuvres, Genève 17 - 21 août 1998
Type Edited Book
Language undefined
Date 1999
Publication Place Genève
Publisher Fondation Hardt
Series Entretiens sur l’antiquité classique
Volume 45
Categories no categories
Author(s)
Editor(s) Calder, William M. , Mansfeld, Jaap
Translator(s)

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Physikai doxai and Problēmata physika from Aristotle to Aëtius (and Beyond), 1992
By: Mansfeld, Jaap, Fortenbaugh, William W. (Ed.), Gutas, Dimitri (Ed.)
Title Physikai doxai and Problēmata physika from Aristotle to Aëtius (and Beyond)
Type Book Section
Language English
Date 1992
Published in Theophrastus. His Psychological, Doxographical and Scientific Writings
Pages 63-111
Categories no categories
Author(s) Mansfeld, Jaap
Editor(s) Fortenbaugh, William W. , Gutas, Dimitri
Translator(s)
In Theophrastus’  bibliography at Diog. Laërt. V 48 the title is given in the 
genitive, Φυσικών δοξών, which means that the intended nominative may have 
been  either  Φυσικών  δόξαι  (The  Tenets  of  the  Philosophers  of  Nature)  or 
Φυσικαί δόξαι (The Tenets in Natural Philosophy).  Scholars have been divided 
over this issue; although the majority have followed Usener and Diels, there are 
a number of noteworthy  exceptions.8  What we have here is  by  no  means a 
minor  problem,  because  the  precise  meaning  of  the  title  is  influential  in 
determining our impression of what the book was about.  In the present paper, 
I shall try to demonstrate, in various ways, that the book-title has to be Φυσικάι
δόξαι.  [p. 64]

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","short_ident":"","is_classical_name":null,"dnb_url":"http:\/\/d-nb.info\/gnd\/110233700","viaf_url":"","db_url":"","from_claudius":null}},{"id":1527,"entry_id":1011,"agent_type":null,"is_normalised":null,"person_id":379,"institution_id":null,"role":{"id":2,"role_name":"editor"},"free_name":"Gutas, Dimitri","free_first_name":"Dimitri","free_last_name":"Gutas","norm_person":{"id":379,"first_name":"Dimitri","last_name":"Gutas","full_name":"Gutas, Dimitri","short_ident":"","is_classical_name":null,"dnb_url":"http:\/\/d-nb.info\/gnd\/122946243","viaf_url":"","db_url":"","from_claudius":null}}],"entry_title":"Physikai doxai and Probl\u0113mata physika from Aristotle to A\u00ebtius (and Beyond)","main_title":{"title":"Physikai doxai and Probl\u0113mata physika from Aristotle to A\u00ebtius (and Beyond)"},"abstract":"In Theophrastus\u2019 bibliography at Diog. La\u00ebrt. V 48 the title is given in the \r\ngenitive, \u03a6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03ce\u03bd \u03b4\u03bf\u03be\u03ce\u03bd, which means that the intended nominative may have \r\nbeen either \u03a6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03ce\u03bd \u03b4\u03cc\u03be\u03b1\u03b9 (The Tenets of the Philosophers of Nature) or \r\n\u03a6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03af \u03b4\u03cc\u03be\u03b1\u03b9 (The Tenets in Natural Philosophy). Scholars have been divided \r\nover this issue; although the majority have followed Usener and Diels, there are \r\na number of noteworthy exceptions.8 What we have here is by no means a \r\nminor problem, because the precise meaning of the title is influential in \r\ndetermining our impression of what the book was about. In the present paper, \r\nI shall try to demonstrate, in various ways, that the book-title has to be \u03a6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03ac\u03b9\r\n\u03b4\u03cc\u03be\u03b1\u03b9. [p. 64]","btype":2,"date":"1992","language":"English","online_url":"","online_resources":"https:\/\/uni-koeln.sciebo.de\/s\/va3DLcPD91tJsO7","doi_url":null,"categories":[],"authors":[{"id":29,"full_name":"Mansfeld, Jaap","role":{"id":1,"role_name":"author"}},{"id":7,"full_name":"Fortenbaugh, William W. ","role":{"id":2,"role_name":"editor"}},{"id":379,"full_name":"Gutas, Dimitri","role":{"id":2,"role_name":"editor"}}],"book":null,"booksection":{"id":1011,"section_of":294,"pages":"63-111","is_catalog":null,"book":{"id":294,"bilderberg_idno":null,"dare_idno":null,"catalog_idno":null,"entry_type":null,"type":4,"language":"en","title":"Theophrastus. His Psychological, Doxographical and Scientific Writings","title_transcript":"","title_translation":"","short_title":"Fortenbaugh1992","has_no_author":null,"volume":null,"date":"1992","edition_no":null,"free_date":"1992","abstract":"Theophrastus of Eresus was Aristotle's pupil and successor as head of the Peripatetic School. He is best known as the author of the amusing Characters and two ground-breaking works in botany, but his writings extend over the entire range of Hellenistic philosophic studies. Volume 5 of Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities focuses on his scientific work. The volume contains new editions of two brief scientific essays-On Fish and Afeteoro\/o^y-accompanied by translations and commentary.\r\n\r\nAmong the contributions are: \"Peripatetic Dialectic in the De sensibus,\" Han Baltussen; \"Empedocles\" Theory of Vision and Theophrastus' De sensibus,\" David N. Sedley; \"Theophrastus on the Intellect,\" Daniel Devereux; \"Theophrastus and Aristotle on Animal Intelligence,\" Eve Browning Cole; \"Physikai doxai and Problemata physika from Aristotle to Agtius (and Beyond),\" Jap Mansfield; \"Xenophanes or Theophrastus? An Aetian Doxographicum on the Sun,\" David Runia; \"Place1 in Context: On Theophrastus, Fr. 21 and 22 Wimmer,\" Keimpe Algra; \"The Meteorology of Theophrastus in Syriac and Arabic Translation,\" Hans Daiber; \"Theophrastus' Meteorology, Aristotle and Posidonius,\" Ian G. Kidd; \"The Authorship and Sources of the Peri Semeion Ascribed to Theophrastus,\" Patrick Cronin; \"Theophrastus, On Fish\" Robert W. Sharpies.","republication_of":null,"online_url":"","online_resources":"https:\/\/uni-koeln.sciebo.de\/s\/CJh1bdWfrxsEkZy","translation_of":null,"new_edition_of":null,"is_catalog":0,"in_bibliography":0,"is_inactive":0,"notes":null,"doi_url":null,"book":{"id":294,"pubplace":"New Brunswick","publisher":"Transaction Publers","series":"Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities","volume":"5","edition_no":"","valid_from":null,"valid_until":null}}},"article":null},"sort":["Physikai doxai and Probl\u0113mata physika from Aristotle to A\u00ebtius (and Beyond)"]}

Prolegomena: Questions to Be Settled Before the Study of an Author, or a Text, 1994
By: Mansfeld, Jaap
Title Prolegomena: Questions to Be Settled Before the Study of an Author, or a Text
Type Monograph
Language English
Date 1994
Publication Place Leiden
Publisher Brill
Series Philosophia Antiqua
Volume 61
Categories no categories
Author(s) Mansfeld, Jaap
Editor(s)
Translator(s)
Mansfeld1994

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Review of: Tardieu 1990: Routes et haltes syriennes d'Isidore à Simplicius, 1993
By: Mansfeld, Jaap
Title Review of: Tardieu 1990: Routes et haltes syriennes d'Isidore à Simplicius
Type Article
Language English
Date 1993
Journal Mnemosyne
Volume 46
Issue 4
Pages 572–575
Categories no categories
Author(s) Mansfeld, Jaap
Editor(s)
Translator(s)
A learned book that reads like a novel. It contains fascinating new information on the late Neoplatonists. "Paysages reliques" refers to exceptionally rare landscapes or, rather, sites in an otherwise overwhelmingly Christianized world where pagan divinities are still present. In the first chapter, T. reconstructs the pilgrimage of Isidorus and Damascius to Bostra, and from Bostra to a site in Syria east of Gadara, where they believed the waters of Styx could be seen. These waters were still venerated by the local population in the old pagan way. Commenting on the fragments of Damascius' Life of Isidorus pertaining to this trip, T., among other things, shows in what ways the description of the numinous site was idealized and how it echoes descriptions in Homer, Plato, and others of similar entrances to the netherworld.

In the second chapter, T. offers a marvelous history of navigation on the Tigris, from Assyrian times until just before World War II, by means of the so-called kālek, a wooden construction kept afloat by inflated animal skins (e.g., sheep skins). He does so because an absolutely unique reference to this means of transport is found in Simplicius’ In De Caelo 525.10–3 Heiberg, who, explaining a point made by Aristotle, tells us that inflated skins are capable of supporting heavy loads (... ?? ?pe?????? ?a? ??? ?at? t?? ????a? p?ta???). This is the Habur, a tributary of the Euphrates. In chapter 3, T. attempts to ferret out the implications of this statement. Several of the numerous sources of this river, mentioned by the elder Pliny and Aelianus, were believed to be sacred to the Syrian goddess and venerated by the local population; the Syrian goddess, in turn, was supposed to be the equivalent of Hera. T. also reproduces descriptions of these sites by later visitors who wrote in Arabic. In antiquity, travel on the Habur was possible by means of small kāleks. T. hypothesizes (without direct evidence) that Simplicius visited these sources for religious and philosophical reasons and that, in fact, his trip was a pilgrimage comparable to that of Isidorus and Damascius one century earlier. After his visit to the sources, Simplicius could have traveled downstream by kālek himself.

T. argues (pp. 130 ff.) that this journey has nothing to do with the famous story of the sojourn of the seven philosophers in Persia after the closing of the Academy by Julian. He assumes that not the whole group of seven philosophers mentioned by Agathias (Hist. II c. 30–31 Keydell), but only Damascius, "métaphysicien globe-trotter au service du paganisme," went to Persia in 531, was received by the king of kings, and secured the inclusion of the famous clause in the peace treaty permitting pagan philosophers to live according to their own ways. T.’s argument seems to be that Agathias (our only source, however) was biased and that Simplicius would have mentioned the kāleks of the Tigris if he had made the journey downriver to the Persian capital himself.

The sources of the Habur are three days by foot to the east of Harran (better known to classicists as Carrhae), an important city near the Persian frontier and perhaps the last stronghold of paganism in the Greco-Roman world. In a paper published in 1986, T. convincingly argued that the so-called Sabians of Harran, who were visited by al-Mas‘udi around 940 and whose main doctrine is described in a fragment of al-Kindi, were (Neo-)Platonists. He assumed that Harran was the safe haven granted to the philosophers after the treaty of 532 and that it was there, not in Athens, that Simplicius wrote his great commentaries on Aristotle. In a second paper published the following year, T. proved that of the four calendars mentioned in Simpl. In Phys. 875.19 ff. Diels, three were actually used simultaneously in Harran and only there, whereas the first listed (the Athenian) must have been observed in the Platonic school.

In chapter 4 of the present book ("D'un commentaire à l'autre"), T. is able to add to the circumstantial evidence supporting the hypothesis that Simplicius lived and wrote in Harran after 532. First, at In Phys. 684.35 ff., he points out that many people crossed rivers using inflated animal skins, as indeed they did in the regions of the Habur and the Tigris (typically one skin per person). Secondly, at In Cat. 358.12 ff. Busse, his examples of compound nouns with a single meaning are Hierapolis and Agathodaimon; these are unparalleled elsewhere. T. plausibly argues (pp. 153 ff.) that the city in question is Hierapolis in Syria, two days by foot west of Harran. Agathodaimon is Hermes' divine teacher in the Corpus Hermeticum. T. points out (pp. 158 ff.) that the pagans of Harran, according to a fragment of al-Kindi, possessed Hermetic writings. Al-Sarahsi, who transmits this information, adds that they venerated Agathodaimon. Thirdly, a passage at In Phys. 641.33 ff. allows T. to argue that Simplicius refers here to a Hermetic identification of the Syrian goddess Atargatis with Isis.

T.'s main argument, presented with admirable clarity, is on the whole convincing. That we are now much better informed about the ways in which Greek philosophy reached the Arabs is a major step forward. Yet one should keep in mind that nothing so far is known of a Neoplatonist school or tradition at Harran before Simplicius, and that there is a considerable gap between him and the Platonists visited by al-Mas‘udi several centuries later. Though continuity is plausible, evidence is lacking. Perhaps T. could have said more about Hermetism at Harran, which was presumably incorporated into Neoplatonism. M. Grignaschi has argued that what he calls a late Greek "epistolary novel" (5th century), containing an exchange of letters between Alexander and Aristotle, was amplified and revised by what he terms (on what appears to be thin evidence) a follower of Hermes who wrote in Arabic in the 7th–8th century at Harran. An investigation by a qualified Orientalist (why not T. himself?) into the relation between the traditions studied by Grignaschi and the facts unearthed by T. may produce surprising results—or so one surmises. [the entire review]

{"_index":"sire","_type":"_doc","_id":"1010","_score":null,"_source":{"id":1010,"authors_free":[{"id":1524,"entry_id":1010,"agent_type":null,"is_normalised":null,"person_id":29,"institution_id":null,"role":{"id":1,"role_name":"author"},"free_name":"Mansfeld, Jaap","free_first_name":"Jaap","free_last_name":"Mansfeld","norm_person":{"id":29,"first_name":"Jaap","last_name":"Mansfeld","full_name":"Mansfeld, Jaap","short_ident":"","is_classical_name":null,"dnb_url":"http:\/\/d-nb.info\/gnd\/119383217","viaf_url":"","db_url":"","from_claudius":null}}],"entry_title":"Review of: Tardieu 1990: Routes et haltes syriennes d'Isidore \u00e0 Simplicius","main_title":{"title":"Review of: Tardieu 1990: Routes et haltes syriennes d'Isidore \u00e0 Simplicius"},"abstract":"A learned book that reads like a novel. It contains fascinating new information on the late Neoplatonists. \"Paysages reliques\" refers to exceptionally rare landscapes or, rather, sites in an otherwise overwhelmingly Christianized world where pagan divinities are still present. In the first chapter, T. reconstructs the pilgrimage of Isidorus and Damascius to Bostra, and from Bostra to a site in Syria east of Gadara, where they believed the waters of Styx could be seen. These waters were still venerated by the local population in the old pagan way. Commenting on the fragments of Damascius' Life of Isidorus pertaining to this trip, T., among other things, shows in what ways the description of the numinous site was idealized and how it echoes descriptions in Homer, Plato, and others of similar entrances to the netherworld.\r\n\r\nIn the second chapter, T. offers a marvelous history of navigation on the Tigris, from Assyrian times until just before World War II, by means of the so-called k\u0101lek, a wooden construction kept afloat by inflated animal skins (e.g., sheep skins). He does so because an absolutely unique reference to this means of transport is found in Simplicius\u2019 In De Caelo 525.10\u20133 Heiberg, who, explaining a point made by Aristotle, tells us that inflated skins are capable of supporting heavy loads (... ?? ?pe?????? ?a? ??? ?at? t?? ????a? p?ta???). This is the Habur, a tributary of the Euphrates. In chapter 3, T. attempts to ferret out the implications of this statement. Several of the numerous sources of this river, mentioned by the elder Pliny and Aelianus, were believed to be sacred to the Syrian goddess and venerated by the local population; the Syrian goddess, in turn, was supposed to be the equivalent of Hera. T. also reproduces descriptions of these sites by later visitors who wrote in Arabic. In antiquity, travel on the Habur was possible by means of small k\u0101leks. T. hypothesizes (without direct evidence) that Simplicius visited these sources for religious and philosophical reasons and that, in fact, his trip was a pilgrimage comparable to that of Isidorus and Damascius one century earlier. After his visit to the sources, Simplicius could have traveled downstream by k\u0101lek himself.\r\n\r\nT. argues (pp. 130 ff.) that this journey has nothing to do with the famous story of the sojourn of the seven philosophers in Persia after the closing of the Academy by Julian. He assumes that not the whole group of seven philosophers mentioned by Agathias (Hist. II c. 30\u201331 Keydell), but only Damascius, \"m\u00e9taphysicien globe-trotter au service du paganisme,\" went to Persia in 531, was received by the king of kings, and secured the inclusion of the famous clause in the peace treaty permitting pagan philosophers to live according to their own ways. T.\u2019s argument seems to be that Agathias (our only source, however) was biased and that Simplicius would have mentioned the k\u0101leks of the Tigris if he had made the journey downriver to the Persian capital himself.\r\n\r\nThe sources of the Habur are three days by foot to the east of Harran (better known to classicists as Carrhae), an important city near the Persian frontier and perhaps the last stronghold of paganism in the Greco-Roman world. In a paper published in 1986, T. convincingly argued that the so-called Sabians of Harran, who were visited by al-Mas\u2018udi around 940 and whose main doctrine is described in a fragment of al-Kindi, were (Neo-)Platonists. He assumed that Harran was the safe haven granted to the philosophers after the treaty of 532 and that it was there, not in Athens, that Simplicius wrote his great commentaries on Aristotle. In a second paper published the following year, T. proved that of the four calendars mentioned in Simpl. In Phys. 875.19 ff. Diels, three were actually used simultaneously in Harran and only there, whereas the first listed (the Athenian) must have been observed in the Platonic school.\r\n\r\nIn chapter 4 of the present book (\"D'un commentaire \u00e0 l'autre\"), T. is able to add to the circumstantial evidence supporting the hypothesis that Simplicius lived and wrote in Harran after 532. First, at In Phys. 684.35 ff., he points out that many people crossed rivers using inflated animal skins, as indeed they did in the regions of the Habur and the Tigris (typically one skin per person). Secondly, at In Cat. 358.12 ff. Busse, his examples of compound nouns with a single meaning are Hierapolis and Agathodaimon; these are unparalleled elsewhere. T. plausibly argues (pp. 153 ff.) that the city in question is Hierapolis in Syria, two days by foot west of Harran. Agathodaimon is Hermes' divine teacher in the Corpus Hermeticum. T. points out (pp. 158 ff.) that the pagans of Harran, according to a fragment of al-Kindi, possessed Hermetic writings. Al-Sarahsi, who transmits this information, adds that they venerated Agathodaimon. Thirdly, a passage at In Phys. 641.33 ff. allows T. to argue that Simplicius refers here to a Hermetic identification of the Syrian goddess Atargatis with Isis.\r\n\r\nT.'s main argument, presented with admirable clarity, is on the whole convincing. That we are now much better informed about the ways in which Greek philosophy reached the Arabs is a major step forward. Yet one should keep in mind that nothing so far is known of a Neoplatonist school or tradition at Harran before Simplicius, and that there is a considerable gap between him and the Platonists visited by al-Mas\u2018udi several centuries later. Though continuity is plausible, evidence is lacking. Perhaps T. could have said more about Hermetism at Harran, which was presumably incorporated into Neoplatonism. M. Grignaschi has argued that what he calls a late Greek \"epistolary novel\" (5th century), containing an exchange of letters between Alexander and Aristotle, was amplified and revised by what he terms (on what appears to be thin evidence) a follower of Hermes who wrote in Arabic in the 7th\u20138th century at Harran. An investigation by a qualified Orientalist (why not T. himself?) into the relation between the traditions studied by Grignaschi and the facts unearthed by T. may produce surprising results\u2014or so one surmises. [the entire review]","btype":3,"date":"1993","language":"English","online_url":"","online_resources":"https:\/\/uni-koeln.sciebo.de\/s\/fu8N5kakur5o7NI","doi_url":null,"categories":[],"authors":[{"id":29,"full_name":"Mansfeld, Jaap","role":{"id":1,"role_name":"author"}}],"book":null,"booksection":null,"article":{"id":1010,"journal_id":null,"journal_name":"Mnemosyne","volume":"46","issue":"4","pages":"572\u2013575"}},"sort":["Review of: Tardieu 1990: Routes et haltes syriennes d'Isidore \u00e0 Simplicius"]}

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