The philosophy of Antiochus

"Antiochus of Ascalon was one of the seminal philosophers of the first century BC, an era of radical philosophical change. Some called him a virtual Stoic, but in reality his programme was an updated revival of the philosophy of the 'ancients', meaning above all Plato and Aristotle. His significance lies partly in his enormous influence on Roman intellectuals of the age, including Cicero, Brutus and Varro, partly in his role as the harbinger of a new style of philosophy, which thereafter remained dominant for the remainder of antiquity. Yet much remains controversial about his ideas. This volume, the first in English to be devoted entirely to Antiochus, brings together a team of leading scholars to discuss every major aspect of his life, work and significance. In addition, it contains the first full guide to his testimonia in any modern language"-- "This book is not The Cambridge Companion to Antiochus. Although the distribution of chapter topics attempts to cover all the major aspects of Antiochus' work and significance, their content does not represent an attempt to set out in orderly fashion what we know or reasonably believe about these questions and to present even-handedly whatever issues remain controversial. Authors have been given free rein to defend their own preferred viewpoint on controversial issues, and they will certainly not all be found singing from the same hymn sheet. This, the first book in English ever devoted entirely to the study of Antiochus, is above all an attempt to take debate forward. Nevertheless, anyone seeking to know the state of the art on Antiochean issues, and to find guidance on navigating the ancient testimonia and modern scholarly literature, will find the book an appropriate place to start.1 The book is born of a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, entitled 'Greco-Roman philosophy in the first century BC' (see Acknowledgements, p. 00). Constructed around a weekly research seminar and two major international workshops, the project sought to advance our understanding of a significant watershed in the history of philosophy. The first century BCE is the period in which philosophy loosened its historic moorings in the great philosophical schools of Athens and entered the Roman world, often attaching itself to such cultural centres as Alexandria and Rome.2"--