Priscian of Lydia

Priscian (or Priscianus; fl. 6th-century) of Lydia was one of the last of the Neoplatonists. Two works of his have survived.

Life

A contemporary of Simplicius of Cilicia, Priscian was born in Lydia, probably in the late 5th century. He was one of the last Neoplatonists to study at the Academy when Damascius was at its head. When Justinian I closed the school in 529, Priscian, together with Damascius, Simplicius, and four other colleagues were forced to seek asylum in the court of the Persian king Chosroes.^[1] By 533 they were allowed back into the Byzantine Empire after Justinian and Chosroes concluded a peace treaty, in which it was provided that the philosophers would be allowed to return.^[1]

Works

Two works of Priscian's have survived:

• An epitome of Theophrastus' On Sense-Perception
• Answers to Chosroes (Solutiones ad Chosroen)

The Answers to Chosroes contain a series of answers to philosophical questions which were apparently posed to Priscian in a debate at the Persian court during his exile. The text exists only in a late, corrupt Latin translation.^[2]

It has also been suggested that the commentary on Aristotle's On the Soul attributed to Simplicius, was written by Priscian,^[3] but this is disputed.^[4]

Notes

Further reading

• Priscian: On Theophrastus on Sense-Perception, with "Simplicius": On Aristotle, On the Soul 2.5-12, translated by Carlos Steel. Duckworth, London 1997. ISBN 0-7156-2752-X

External links

• Victoria Erhart: The Context and Contents of Priscianus of Lydia's Solutionum ad Chosroem