Demiurge in Ancient Thought - Secondary Gods and Divine Mediators

This book examines religious and 'scientific'/philosophical accounts of world-generation as represented by the figure of the Demiurge, or Craftsman-god.

List of contents

1. Demiurgy and other approaches to world-generation; 2. Plato's Timaeus, the original concept of the Demiurge and the exegesis of the dialogue; 3. Logos into Demiurge: Philo of Alexandria as witness to developments in contemporary Platonism; 4. Plutarch and the Demiurge of Egyptian mythology; 5. A simplified understanding of God: Maximus of Tyre; 6. Numenius and his doctrine of three Gods; 7. On the fringes of philosophy: speculations in Hermetism; 8. The ignorant Demiurge: Valentinus and the Gnostics; 9. Origen, the Demiurge and Christian theology; 10. Plotinus and the demise of the Demiurge; 11. Concluding remarks.

About the author

Carl Séan O'Brien is Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg and Research Associate in the Centre for the Study of the Platonic Tradition at Trinity College Dublin.

Summary

A lucid and wide-ranging book arguing that the concept of the Demiurge, or Craftsman-god, first advanced by Plato's Timaeus, was highly influential on the many discussions of world-generation operating in Middle Platonist, Gnostic, Hermetic and Christian contexts in the first three centuries AD, until its demise in Neoplatonism.

Product details

• Authors: Carl Sean O'Brien, Carl Séan O'Brien, Carl Sean O''brien
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.11.2018
• EAN: 9781107428096
• ISBN: 978-1-107-42809-6
• No. of pages: 349
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900, Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500, BCE to c 500 CE, C 500 CE To C 1000 CE, Western philosophy: Medieval & Renaissance, c 500 to c 1600