Abstract

A synthesis of Christian and Hellenic religio-philosophical sources, the Corpus Dionysiacum reflects both Greek Patristic thought and Hellenic Platonism. Indeed, its unidentified author, otherwise known as Pseudo-Dionysius, is not only familiar with both these traditions, but has appropriated much from each, and adeptly produced a genuinely Christian vision. The focus of this study lies with Pseudo-Dionysius' appropriation of certain notions in Hellenic Platonism to express his Christian vision of the rational being's relationship to God and its return to divine likeness and union. It is generally agreed that Pseudo-Dionysius is significantly indebted to the Neoplatonism of the Athenian school of the fifth and early sixth centuries, and particularly reliant upon the thought of Proclus. Late Athenian Neoplatonism, however, clearly derives from Plato's thought and Plotinus' brand of Platonism , which, through the mediation of Plotinus' student Porphyry , and in combination with the thought of the Syrian philosopher Iamblichus , contributed substantially to the final form of Platonism elaborated and systematized by Proclus in Athens. It is this late Hellenic Neoplatonism being taught at Athens--with its doctrines of triads and mean terms, system of divine Henads, theories of participation, views of the remaining, procession and return of the cosmos, and strong emphasis on the importance of theurgy for the salvation of the soul--upon which Pseudo-Dionysius so heavily relies. ;Thus, this study evaluates Pseudo-Dionysius' appropriation from the thought of Plato, Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus and Proclus of various terms and concepts of eros, the soul, analogy and theurgy--all excellent examples of his Christian customization of Hellenic Platonic thought--to help explicate the rational being's attainment of divine likeness and union. It is argued that Pseudo-Dionysius was intimately familiar with these notions, and that he not only successfully incorporated these notions, but retained a good deal of their Hellenic spirit within his Christian vision of the rational being's return to God, that he was able to do so by way of certain basic, though clearly important, correctives, and finally, that he adeptly produced a rich synthesis which surpasses the sum of its "borrowed" parts