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Radical Platonism in Byzantium: Illumination and Utopia in Gemistos Plethon (Cambridge Classical Studies) 1st Edition

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Niketas Siniossoglou (Author)
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5.0 out of 5 stars 4 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-1107013032
ISBN-10: 1107013038
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  1. The Philosophy of Gemistos Plethon: Platonism in Late Byzantium, between Hellenism and Orthodoxy
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  2. George Gemistos Plethon: The Last of the Hellenes (Oxford University Press academic monograph reprints)
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Product Details

  • Series: Cambridge Classical Studies
  • Hardcover: 472 pages
  • Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (December 30, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1107013038
  • ISBN-13: 978-1107013032
  • Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,055,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 starsThe Hellenism of Plethon
By Evaggelos Vallianatos on September 24, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Niketas Siniossoglou has written a great book about Plethon, probably the greatest Greek since late antiquity. That's why I was offended by the review of John Romanides. Why any one should be surprised that Plethon advocated philosophical Hellenism for his contemporary Greeks besieged by monks, clergy and Turks? Siniossoglou is a philosopher who knows medieval and ancient Greek thought and history well. His pioneering study puts Plethon in the context of his times: a time of extreme danger for Greece and a time of intellectual ferment. He helps us see the role of Plethon in spreading paganism -- philosophical Hellenism -- in Orthodox Christian Greece. He documents how "a Platonist world-view antagonistic to Christianity was preserved, appropriated, re-calibrated and and continuously juxtaposed Christian monastic and clerical hegemony." His lucid book sheds light on the intellectual connections between the Platonic tradition and its 15th century version and application to life and death problems of the Greek people. It also explains how philosophical Greeks resisted the onslaught of official Christianity and the foreigners at the gate -- the Turks swarming in the collapsing state in mid 15th century.
I recommend Siniossoglou's book very highly.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Central Work in Understanding Platonism in Byzantium
By R9 on December 29, 2012
Format: Hardcover
The essential point is this: the Platonic / pagan theology fled into hiding with the ascendency of Christianity. This was not a sudden event, and the scholars and leaders of this thinking had to plan for the long run for this survival of belief to take place. It was not only the survival of the written content, which was difficult enough, but also the survival of a school of thought. This pagan school of thought was and is essentially incompatible and irreconcilable with that of the Christian model. They simply do not fit together nor support one another in the author's view. The efforts of syncretists over the generations are therefore nice tries, but ultimately fruitless in the search for a unity of Platonic thought with Christian. This inspires a long chain of theological Platonists, including Plethon, to "hide out in the open" by means of dissimulation. Plethon, the key figure here, used dissimulation in his writings, including the missives to the emperors, to feign Christian orthodoxy, but even a moderately close examination will turn him up a Platonist, as will an examination of his close colleagues outside the church.

This becomes much more openly evident as both his life and the life of the Byzantine empire come to their respective closure points.

Those who were less effective in their self-cloaking and lacking in the protection of friends and position could, and did, find themselves being executed, so this was a deadly serious game to play.
Really quite a remarkable piece of work.

Niketas Siniossoglou is a known scholar in this field, and deservedly so.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsa long-awaited study on Gemistos Plethon
By de morpheas on September 24, 2012
Format: Hardcover
This long-awaited study on Plethon's philosophy suitably covers a gap in the relevant literature. This erudite monograph meets the needs of current research and is equally helpful for historians of philosophy and those interested in the history of theology alike. Highly recommended.
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5.0 out of 5 starsChristian Philosophy: a step towards its deconstruction
By Charalampos Magoulas on October 12, 2012
Format: Hardcover
I think I will second Evaggelos Vallianatos review: this book is not only a thorough account of the struggle of the Hellenic thought to survive through the Byzantine dark ages, but also a wonderful interpretation of the continuity of pagan philosophy from the Ancient times (late Antiquity) to the threshold of modernity. In the current debate on the essentialism of the Byzantine worldview, the Hellenic system of values, concepts and arguments finds here an ardent advocate against the fallacies about the abovementioned era the Christian church has systematically evolved.
Moreover, the language used by Siniossoglou is a brilliant example of how a strict scientific discourse can be easily accessible to wider readerships.
Hence, I couldn't agree more: highly recommended for young scholars and philosophers as well as for true lovers of history of ideas who seek for unbiased knowledge.
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