Introduction

When does Neoplatonism end? While the closure of Plato’s Academy in Athens in 529 ce may have some institutional entitlement of an end of a period, this, as has o en been pointed out, is nowhere near the end of Neoplatonism. Geographically, Neoplatonic philosophers continued their work, especially in Alexandria, as did even the Athenians in exile in Persia, and, to be judged from the sheer volume of Simplicius’ works written a er the exile, there was no interruption in terms of literary work on their return to the Christian empire.1 How about the last pagan Neoplatonic head of the school in Alexandria, then, Damascius (c.460-540 ce)? Could we end the Neoplatonic school of thought with him? Or with some other, less-known pagan Neoplatonist active a er him? If paganism is used as a condition for being a proper Neoplatonist, do we automatically rule out Damascius’ Christian partner in debate, John Philoponus, and his clear Neoplatonic leanings? e problem with these questions is, as has been pointed out in many contexts, that they presuppose that Neoplatonism is a school with clearly de ned geographical, religious, doctrinal and chronological limits. But ideas and movements, of course, do not work this way. ey are uid collections of shared assumptions, approaches and intuitions, sometimes strengthened with common written documents considered helpful, worth going back to, or even authoritative. In the case of Neoplatonism, even the transmission and working with such texts – the Classical and Hellenistic philosophical heritage, the Chaldaean Oracles, as well as other works that the Neoplatonists read and commented – testi es of this same exibility. While certain key commitments, like the idea of the One as the uni ed source of everything, are shared, as we have seen in Part II, they bring together very di erent thinkers and writers, expanded over a period of several hundreds of years.