Customer Reviews

Plato's Cosmology: The Timaeus of Plato

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A cosmology is a narrative concerning the creation of the universe. Many ancient philosophers have written or elaborated this kind of work. The Platonic dialogue Timeus is an account of the work of the creator god (called the demiurge - or artisan) sculpting the chaotic material world in accordance with the immaterial model of the Ideas. But the text was written in a very hermetic and symbolic language, making its interpretation difficult or even impossible without the knowledge of the references and symbols used by Plato. This book is a complete translation of the text followed by a comprehensive commentary explaining in detail every passage. Francis MacDonald Cornford is one of the most important ancient philosophy scholars, and this work reveals his deep knowledge of Platonic and Greek thought. It is a must have for anyone interested in greek and Platonic philosophy.

This is an excellent and invaluable reference book for Plato's Timaeus. If you are reading Timaeus you MUST have this book. It contains line-by-line commentary, and also, most valuable, some very helpful illustrations (example: illustration of the human body as Timaeus explained it). I would, however, balance this book with other books that attempt to place Timaeus within the rest of Plato's works. I recommend, for example, Peter Kalkavage's Timaeus. There, he attempts to link Timaeus and Republic.

this book is an important work to read if you are interested in or studying the Timaeus dialogue. The book contains a translation with a running comentary.