Holder of the chair of philosophy at Alexandria in the mid-sixth century and heir of Ammonius, whose Prolegomena to logic and teaching method were followed by the commentaries under the names of Elias and David; the Syriac and Arabic scholars knew some of his commentaries.
Life
Olympiodorus lived approximately from 500 to 570 and held the chair of philosophy at Alexandria; he is last attested alive in 565. He was presumably a late pupil of Ammonius son of Hermeias, whom he called ‘the great philosopher’ and whose intellectual heir he considered himself.
His surviving works include a commentary on Aristotle’s Categories preceded by Prolegomena to Aristotle’s logic, a commentary on the Meteorology (the only complete ancient commentary on it), and commentaries on Plato’s Alcibiades I, Gorgias and Phaedo with a Life of Plato. He must also have written a commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge, since he refers to it in his Categories commentary, but it does not survive. The commentaries that circulated under the names of Elias and David refer to him and adopt his way of teaching.
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia, ‘the Syrians and the Arabs certainly knew and read him, but not extensively’. The Arabic sources mention his commentaries on On Generation and Corruption and On the Soul. The commentary on On Generation and Corruption, lost in Greek, was translated early by Usṭāth (Eustathius), then retranslated by Abū Bishr Mattā and revised by Yaḥyā b. ʿAdī; Abū Bishr Mattā also translated his Meteorology commentary, probably from Ḥunayn b. Isḥāq’s Syriac version (D’Ancona). No Arabic translation of his logical commentaries is reported in the sources consulted here.
Uncertain or disputed
- Dates: the Stanford Encyclopedia gives approximately 500–570; Wikipedia (‘Elias’) notes that he is last attested alive in 565.
- Whether Elias and David were his pupils in the strict sense: the Stanford Encyclopedia says only that their commentaries refer to him and follow his method; Wikipedia calls it reasonable to assume that Elias studied with him.
- No Arabic form of his name is given here; the Fihrist’s name for a commentator, which Flügel read as ‘al-Imqīdurus’, i.e. Olympiodorus, is uncertain (D’Ancona, SEP, note 54).
Works
- Prolegomena to logic and commentary on the Categories — к АристотельSurvives in Greek.комментарий
- Commentary on the Isagoge — к ПорфирийLost; known from his own reference to it in the Categories commentary.комментарий
- Commentary on the Meteorology — к АристотельTranslated into Arabic by Abū Bishr Mattā.комментарий
Reception
His commentary on On the Soul, unknown in Greek, is mentioned as extant in Syriac (D’Ancona, SEP).
The Arabic ‘Allīnūs’, author of a commentary on the Categories, has been identified by some with Olympiodorus’ pupil Elias; other identifications have been proposed (D’Ancona, SEP).
Sources (4)