Editing Hierocles of Alexandria

{{Short description|5th-century Greek philosopher and writer}}
'''Hierocles of Alexandria''' ({{langx|el|Ἱεροκλῆς ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς}}) was a [[Greece|Greek]] [[Neoplatonist]] writer who was active around AD 430.

==Life==
He studied under [[Plutarch of Athens|Plutarch]] (the Neoplatonist) at [[Athens]] in the early 5th century, and taught for some years in his native city.<ref name="eb1911">{{1911|wstitle=Hierocles of Alexandria|volume=13|pages=453–454}}</ref> He seems to have been banished from [[Alexandria]] and to have taken up his abode in [[Constantinople]], where he gave an offence in the court. [[Damascius]] relates as follows:<blockquote>"he went to Byzantium and there knocked against those in power. Taken to court, he was beaten by the blows of men. Covered in blood, he soaked the palm of his hand and sprinkled the judge, saying: ''Cyclops, come, drink some wine since you have eaten human flesh.''<ref>{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/politeia-in-greek-and-roman-philosophy/1D23EBD9B61AE2852DC0555309D2841B|title=Politeia in Greek and Roman Philosophy|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=|isbn=978-1-107-02022-1|editor-last=Harte|editor-first=Verity|location=Cambridge|pages=178|doi=10.1017/cbo9781139096843|editor-last2=Lane|editor-first2=Melissa}}</ref>''"''</blockquote>By quoting the [[Odyssey]] (9.347), Herocles was mocking the Christian [[eucharist]]. His disciple [[Aeneas of Gaza|Aeneas]], a member of the [[Rhetorical School of Gaza]], later combined neoplatonic thought with his Christian beliefs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glucker |first1=Carol A. M. |title=The city of Gaza in the Roman and Byzantine periods |date=1987 |publisher=Oxford, England : B.A.R. |isbn=978-0-86054-418-0 |page=52 |url=https://archive.org/details/cityofgazainroma0000gluc/page/52/mode/2up?view=theater |access-date=11 January 2024}}</ref>

==Works==
The only complete work of his which has been preserved is the commentary on the [[The golden verses of Pythagoras|''Chrysa Epe'' (''Golden Verses'') of Pythagoras]].<ref name="eb1911"/> It enjoyed a great reputation in the [[Middle Ages]] and the [[Renaissance]], and there are numerous translations in various European languages.<ref name="eb1911"/> Several other writings, especially one on providence and fate, a consolatory treatise dedicated to his patron [[Olympiodorus of Thebes]], are quoted or referred to by [[Photios I of Constantinople|Photius]] and [[Stobaeus]].<ref name="eb1911"/> Hierocles argued against astrological fatalism on the basis that it is supported by an irrational necessity rather than a divine, rational [[Providence of God]].<ref name="iep">[http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/astr-hel.htm#SH7e Hierocles], Hellenistic Astrology, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy</ref> For the same reason, he opposed theurgic and magic practices as they were attempts to supersede the divine providential order.<ref name="iep"/>

Although he never mentions [[Christianity]] in his surviving works, his writings have been taken as an attempt at reconciliation between Greek religion traditions and the Christian beliefs he may have encountered in Constantinople.<ref>{{cite DCBL|wstitle=Hierocles of Alexandria, a philosopher |first=J. R.|last=Mozley}}</ref>

The collection of some 260 witticisms attributed to Hierocles and Philagrius, the ''[[Philogelos]]'', has no connection with Hierocles of Alexandria, but is probably a compilation of later date, founded on two older collections.<ref name="eb1911"/> It is now agreed that the fragments of the Elements of Ethics preserved in [[Stobaeus]] are from a work by a [[Stoicism|Stoic]] named [[Hierocles (Stoic)|Hierocles]], contemporary of [[Epictetus]], who has been identified with the "Hierocles Stoicus vir sanctus et gravis" in [[Aulus Gellius]] (ix. 5. 8).<ref name="eb1911"/> This theory is confirmed by the discovery of a [[papyrus]] (ed. H. von Arnim in Berliner Klassikertexte, Iv. 1906.)<ref name="eb1911"/>

==Bibliography==
* F. W. Köhler, ''Hieroclis in aureum Pythagoreorum carmen commentarius'', Teubner, 1974. {{ISBN|9783519014102}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Hermann S. Schibli, ''Hierocles of Alexandria''.   Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0-19-924921-0}}.

{{Platonists}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:5th-century Greek philosophers]]
[[Category:5th-century Byzantine writers]]
[[Category:Neoplatonists in Alexandria]]
[[Category:Roman-era students in Athens]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek ethicists]]