Divine Powers in Late Antiquity

Edited by Anna Marmodoro and Irini-Fotini Viltanioti

Examines aspects of the notion of divine power as developed by the four major figures of Neoplatonism: Plotinus (c. 204-270), Porphyry (c. 234-305), Iamblichus (c.245-325), and Proclus (412-485).
Investigates the notion of divine power in early Christian authors, from the New Testament to the Alexandrian school (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius the Great) and, further, to the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa), as well as in some of these authors' sources (the Septuagint, Philo of Alexandria).
Offers a multidisciplinary approach which gives readers a deeper understanding of the notion of divine power in Late Antiquity.

Divine Powers in Late Antiquity

Edited by Anna Marmodoro and Irini-Fotini Viltanioti

Description

Is power the essence of divinity, or are divine powers distinct from divine essence? Are they divine hypostases or are they divine attributes? Are powers such as omnipotence, omniscience, etc. modes of divine activity? How do they manifest? In which way can we apprehend them? Is there a multiplicity of gods whose powers fill the cosmos or is there only one God from whom all power(s) derive(s) and whose power(s) permeate(s) everything? These are questions that become central to philosophical and theological debates in Late Antiquity (roughly corresponding to the period 2nd to the 6th centuries). On the one hand, the Pagan Neoplatonic thinkers of this era postulate a complex hierarchy of gods, whose powers express the unlimited power of the ineffable One. On the other hand, Christians proclaim the existence of only one God, one divine power or one 'Lord of all powers'.

Divided into two main sections, the first part of Divine Powers in Late Antiquity examines aspects of the notion of divine power as developed by the four major figures of Neoplatonism: Plotinus (c. 204-270), Porphyry (c. 234-305), Iamblichus (c.245-325), and Proclus (412-485). It focuses on an aspect of the notion of divine power that has been so far relatively neglected in the literature. Part two investigates the notion of divine power in early Christian authors, from the New Testament to the Alexandrian school (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius the Great) and, further, to the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa), as well as in some of these authors' sources (the Septuagint, Philo of Alexandria). The traditional view tends to overlook the fact that the Bible, particularly the New Testament, was at least as important as Platonic philosophical texts in the shaping of the early Christian thinking about the Church's doctrines. Whilst challenging the received interpretation by redressing the balance between the Bible and Greek philosophical texts, the essays in the second section of this book nevertheless argue for the philosophical value of early Christian reflections on the notion of divine power. The two groups of thinkers that each of the sections deal with (the Platonic-Pagan and the Christian one) share largely the same intellectual and cultural heritage; they are concerned with the same fundamental questions; and they often engage in more or less public philosophical and theological dialogue, directly influencing one another.

Divine Powers in Late Antiquity

Edited by Anna Marmodoro and Irini-Fotini Viltanioti

Introduction, Anna Marmodoro and Irini-Fotini Viltanioti
Part 1 The Powers of the Gods: from Plotinus to Proclus
1: The Sources and Structures of Power and Activity in Plotinus, Kevin Corrigan
2: Human Action and Divine Power in Plotinus, Pauliina Remes
3: Divine Powers and Cult Statues in Porphyry of Tyre, Irini-Fotini Viltanioti
4: Iamblichus on Divination: Divine Power and Human Intuition, Peter Struck
5: Powers and Poiesis: Statue Animation and Divine Manifestation in Proclus Diadochus' Commentary on the Timaeus, Todd Krulak
6: The Sceptre and the Sickle. The Transmission of Divine Power in the Orphic Rhapsodies, Marco Antonio Santamaría Alvarez
Part 2 The Powers of God: from Philo of Alexandria to the Cappadocian Fathers
6: Divine Powers in Philo of Alexandria's De opificio mundi, Baudouin Decharneux
7: The Self-giving Power of God: Dunamis in Early Christianity, Johathan Hill
8: The Power of God in some Early Christian Texts, Mark Edwards
9: Divine Power in Origen of Alexandria: Sources and Aftermath, Ilaria Ramelli
10: Powers and Properties in Basil of Caesarea's Homiliae in Hexaemeron, Andrew Radde-Gallwitz
11: Gregory of Nyssa on the Creation of the World, Anna Marmodoro
Index of Names and Subjects
Index Locorum

Divine Powers in Late Antiquity

Edited by Anna Marmodoro and Irini-Fotini Viltanioti

Author Information

Edited by Anna Marmodoro, Official Fellow in Philosophy, Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford, and Irini-Fotini Viltanioti, Wiener-Anspach Junior Research Fellow, Wolfson College, University of Oxford and Associated Researcher, University of Brussels and CNRS

Professor Anna Marmodoro specialises in metaphysics and its history; she has a background in ancient, late antiquity and medieval philosophy, and a strong research interest in the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of mind, and. She is the author of Everything in Everything: Anaxagoras's Metaphysics (OUP, 2017) and Aristotle on Perceiving Objects (OUP, 2014).

Dr Irini-Fotini Viltanioti is aWiener-Anspach Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford and Associated Researcher at the University of Brussels and CNRS. She specialises in ancient philosophy, with research interests in classics and the history of religions. Viltanioti is the author of L'harmonie des Sirènes du pythagorisme ancien à Platon (De Gruyter, 2015).

Contributors:

Marco Antonio Santamaria Alvarez
Kevin Corrigan
Baudouin Decharneux
Mark Edwards
Johathan Hill
Todd Krulak
Anna Marmodoro
Andrew Radde-Gallwitz
Ilaria Ramelli
Paulina Remes
Peter Struck
Irini-Fotini Viltanioti

Divine Powers in Late Antiquity

Edited by Anna Marmodoro and Irini-Fotini Viltanioti

Reviews and Awards

"The editors, Anna Marmodoro and Irini-Fotini Viltanioti, have assembled an excellent set of twelve papers that address this question from two perspectives, a Platonic one from Plotinus to Proclus, and a 'Christian' one from Philo of Alexandria to the Cappadocian Fathers, perspectives that also inform the subdivision of the volume into two parts. ... The collection offers numerous significant insights into different approaches to 'power theology', that is, to the manner in which ancient and late antique thinkers speculated about the nature, efficacy, and manifestations of divine dynamis or potentia." - Susanna Elm, Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity

"[A] collection of papers of high quality." - Peter Lautner, The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition

"I highly recommend this foundational book to anyone concerned with the issues discussed herein, and all such readers can benefit from its persuasive analyses and full insight." - Reading Religion

Divine Powers in Late Antiquity

Edited by Anna Marmodoro and Irini-Fotini Viltanioti

From Our Blog

Divine powers

What do we think of when we think of 'God'? Any answer to this question will include the idea that the divine is powerful. God creates, God is in charge of the world. If we think that the concept of God doesn't make sense, that may be partly because the concept of God's power doesn't make sense: how can a good God be powerful whilst the world contains this much suffering?

Posted on June 24, 2017

Read the blog post