From Alexandria to Baghdad via Damascus: Missing Links in the Transmission of Greek Philosophy in Late Antiquity

The established narrative of the transmission of Greek philosophy and science in late antiquity leaves a significant gap between the end of the Alexandrian school in the 6th century and its “rediscovery” in 9th-century Baghdad. This so-called ‘Dark Age’ can be illumined by looking at the Graeco-Syriac translation movement that preceded the Arabic one. The influence of the former on the latter usually goes unrecognised in histories of Western philosophy. In addition, we have the example of John of Damascus, whose philosophical work has not been sufficiently studied in its original 8th-century context, this lecture will take a closer look at both the Syriac Christian contribution to the transmission as well as the Greek contribution made by the Damascene.

Speaker:

Dr Ken Parry is Emeritus Senior Research Fellow, History and Archaeology, Macquarie University, and Visiting Research Fellow, Centre for Classical Studies, ANU. He researches in the fields of Late Antiquity, Byzantine Studies, and Eastern Christianity. He was President of the Australasian Association for Byzantine Studies (2014–2019) and is founding editor of the Brill series Texts and Studies in Eastern Christianity (45 vols to date). Among his recent publications he has contributed to The Cambridge Intellectual History of Byzantium (2017), Brill’s Companion to Byzantine Iconoclasm (2021), Harmony of the Spheres: Ancient and Recent Perspectives (2026), and Brill’s Companion to Byzantine Philosophy (forthcoming). He is currently editing Brill’s Companion to John of Damascus and a volume on cultural heritage destruction in the Middle East.

Date, time & location: Wednesday 2 September 2026, 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm 

Australian National University, AD Hope Building 14, Conference Room 1.28



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Presence of Aristotle in Byzantine Theology

Image
With the kind permission of Professor David Bradshaw, below is an excerpt from his chapter, “The Presence of Aristotle in Byzantine Theology” in The Cambridge Intellectual History of Byzantium , edited by Anthony Kaldellis & Niketas Siniossoglou (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017). Any attempt to survey the place of Aristotle within Byzantine theology must begin by recognizing that the category of “Byzantine theology” is itself a modern construction. The Byzantines did not think of themselves as Byzantines, but as Romans. This fact is not merely a matter of nomenclature, but a reminder of their strong sense of continuity with the classical and early Christian past. As regards theology, in particular, the Byzantines saw no sharp line dividing their own times from the foundational era of Christianity. Although they recognized the authority of the Church Fathers, they did not think in terms of a closed and completed “age of the Fathers.”[1] The holy and God-bearing Fathers...
Read more

John of Damascus and Byzantine Philosophy

Image
John of Damascus: More than a Compiler (Brill, 2022), challenges the assumption that the eighth-century theologian, St John Damascene, was no more than a compiler of tradition. It explores the ways in which John made his sources his own, his reception history, his biography, his philosophic appropriation and unique contribution, and his influence on subsequent generations. The essays in the second part of the volume show how John’s theological vision was intrinsically linked to Byzantine philosophy. Further information is available here (Brill webpage).
Read more

Byzantine and Renaissance Philosophy

Image
In the sixth volume of  A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps , Byzantine and Renaissance Philosophy , Peter Adamson introduces the thinkers and movements of Byzantium and the Italian Renaissance. Adamson focuses on John of Damascus in the eighth century and the late Byzantine scholars of the fifteenth century. Insofar as the philosophers of Byzantium sparked the humanist movement in Italy. Figures such as Christine de Pizan, Niccolò Machiavelli, Giordano Bruno, and Galileo are examined alongside lesser known figures, including Lorenzo Valla, Girolamo Savonarola, and Bernardino Telesio. Major historical themes include the humanist engagement with ancient literature, the emergence of women humanists, the flowering of Republican government in Renaissance Italy, the continuation of Aristotelian and scholastic philosophy alongside humanism, and breakthroughs in science.  https://global.oup.com/academic/product/byzantine-and-renaissance-philosophy-9780192856418?cc=au&lang=en...
Read more