Proclus and the Chaldean Oracles: A Study on Proclean Exegesis, with a Translation and Commentary of Proclus’ Treatise On Chaldean Philosophy

211 Pages·2020·6.94 MB·English

by  Nicola Spanu

P roclus and the Chaldean Oracles
This volume examines the discussion of the Chaldean Oracles in the work
of Proclus, as well as offering a translation and commentary of Proclus’
Treatise On Chaldean Philosophy .
Spanu assesses whether Proclus’ exegesis of the Chaldean Oracles can
be used by modern research to better clarify the content of Chaldean
doctrine or must instead be abandoned because it represents a substantial
misinterpretation of originary Chaldean teachings. The volume is augmented
by Proclus’ Greek text, with English translation and commentary.
Proclus and the Chaldean Oracles will be of interest to researchers working
on Neoplatonism, Proclus and theurgy in the ancient world.
Nicola Spanu wrote a PhD thesis on Plotinus and his Gnostic disciples
and took part in a postdoctoral project on Byzantine cosmology and its
relation to Neoplatonism. He has worked as an independent researcher
on his second academic publication, which has focused on P roclus and the
Chaldean Oracles.
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A Study on Proclean Exegesis , with a Translation and Commentary of
Proclus’ Treatise On Chaldean Philosophy
N icola Spanu
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Proclus and the Chaldean
Oracles
A Study on Proclean Exegesis ,
with a Translation and Commentary
of Proclus’ Treatise On Chaldean
Philosophy
Nicola Spanu
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
R outledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Nicola Spanu
T he right of Nicola Spanu to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Spanu, Nicola, author. | Proclus, approximately 410–485. On
the Chaldean philosophy. English (Spanu) | Proclus, approximately
410–485. On the Chaldean philosophy. Greek (Des Places)
Title: Proclus and the Chaldean oracles : a study on Proclean exegesis,
with a translation and commentary of Proclus’ Treatise on
Chaldean philosophy / Nicola Spanu.
Other titles: Routledge monographs in classical studies.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. |
Series: Routledge monographs in classical studies | Greek text
edited by É douard Des Places. | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020012777 (print) | LCCN 2020012778 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Proclus, approximately 410–485. On the Chaldean
philosophy. | Julianus, the Theurgist. Chaldean oracles. |
Neoplatonism. | Metaphysics.
Classification: LCC B701.O53 S63 2021 (print) | LCC B701.O53
(ebook) | DDC 186/.4—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020012777
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020012778
ISBN: 978-0-367-47314-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-03662-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
dla Oli

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
0.1 The Chaldean Oracles and Proclus 1
0.2 A brief introductory comparison between Proclus’
and the Chaldean Oracles’ metaphysics 3
0.3 A concise assessment of the disagreement of current
literature concerning the first principles of Chaldean
metaphysics 6
0.4 The purpose of this book 8
0.5 Some methodological and hermeneutical
considerations 11
0.6 Final considerations 12
1 The Chaldean triad 17
1.1 The triad Father – Power – Intellect 17
1.2 The First Transcendent Fire, the First Intellect and the
Demiurgic Intellect 33
2 The structure of the divine dimension 53
2 .1 The single divine hypostases 53
3 The world’s intellectual archetype and the creation
of the material dimension 96
3 .1 The world of intellectual Ideas 96
3 .2 The division of all things into triads 98
3 .3 The cosmic triad Faith – Truth – Eros 99
3 .4 The paternal Intellect’s ‘channels of implacable fire’ 101
viii Contents
3.5 Symbola and synthemata 103
3.6 Matter 104
3.7 The four elements and the creation of the material
world 106
3.8 The sun and the encosmic gods 107
3.9 The sky 111
3.10 The movement of the fixed stars and the planetary
revolutions 112
4 Man and his destiny 116
4.1 The creation of man by the Father 116
4 .2 The vehicle of the soul 117
4 .3 The material body 118
4 .4 The liberation of the souls from their material
costraints 119
4.5 Metempsychosis 120
4.6 The soul’s faculty of perception 121
4.7 The ‘gods’’ address to the initiate 121
4.8 The initiate’s love for the gods 128
4.9 Hecate’s apparitions to the initiate 129
4.10 The Chaldean way to the Father 133
4.11 Man between angels and daemons 139
5 Proclus’ On Chaldean Philosophy : translation
and commentary 147
5.1 Introduction 147
5 .2 Text 148
5 .3 Translation 152
5.4 Commentary 156
Conclusions 166
S ynopsis of Chaldean and Proclean systems 168
Bibliography 170
I ndex of ancient sources quoted 185
I ndex 195
Acknowledgments
I want to thank Prof. Giulia Sfameni Gasparro for sharing with me her
insightful thoughts on the topics discussed in this book. My thanks also go
to Dr. Ernesto Sergio Mainoldi for helping me to improve the manuscript. I
am grateful to the anonymous reviewers of this book for their suggestions on
how to make it accessible to a wider public. Of course, I take full responsibil-
ity for possible mistakes as well as for the final choices I made. Last but not
least, I want to thank my wife, parents and brother for showing to me their
constant support during the difficult times in which I have written this book.