Abstract

This first chapter provides a suitable introduction to the volume by drawing a vivid picture of Proclus’ life: his provenance, his education, and his direction of the fifth-century school of Athens. Rather than rehearsing the well-known ‘facts’ of Proclus’ life, the author revises the received portrait of the philosopher by drawing attention to little noted patterns and details in Proclus’ biography. Behind the rhetoric of Marinus’ Life of Proclus, he discovers the portrait of a complex and intriguing human figure: the greatest philosopher of the fifth century and convinced advocate of pagan culture turns out to be a man with startling pretensions and lofty ambitions. By thus depicting the life at the fifth-century school of Athens, the author also sheds light on the practice of pagan culture in the fifth century by some of the leading intellectuals of the time.