Abstract

The central project of the dissertation is an inquiry into the conceptions of the divine first principle held by second-century Middle Platonists and the author of the Tripartite Tractate . The dissertation opens with a general introduction to Valentinian Gnosticism and an analysis of the central paradox of Gnosticism. There follows a discussion of the provenance of the Tripartite Tractate and an examination of the lives and literary careers of five prominent second-century Middle Platonists: Alcinous, Apuleius of Madaura, Celsus, Maximus of Tyre, and Numenius of Apamea. The focus of the dissertation then moves to a detailed examination of the approaches to an unknown god present in late antiquity, with particular concentration upon the metaphysical and mystical views of Middle Platonism. The final portion of the dissertation investigates the manner in which the author of the Tripartite Tractate conceives the unique primordial principle of his ontology and assesses the degree to which Middle Platonic natural theology influences the expression of this doctrine