The discovery of the fifteenth-century codex Vlatadon 14 in 2005 was an extraordinary moment for scholars of Graeco Roman antiquity, as it brought to light a new witness to a large collection of Galen’s medical and philosophical works. Among them is the moral essay De indolentia (On Avoiding Distress), a text long deemed lost, and the De propriis placitis (On My Own Opinions), a doxographical piece with a complex textual tradition, up to that point known only through a corrupt medieval Latin translation and some passages preserved in Greek. This volume provides a new critical edition of the two Galenic treatises, which represents a significant improvement on earlier editorial attempts by offering more accurate readings of the codex, including supplementation of previously unrestored lacunae, and many emendations to thorny passages owed to physical damage in the manuscript as well as perhaps careless scribes and/or the poor quality of their model. The more authoritative version of the two texts is accompanied by fresh English translations and brief introductions, making both works widely accessible not just to Classicists but also to scholars and students of ancient medicine, ancient philosophy and Roman Imperial literary culture.

The Greek commentary tradition devoted to explicating Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (NE) was extensive. It began in antiquity with Aspasius and reached a point of immense sophistication in the twelfth century with the commentaries of Eustratius of Nicaea and Michael of Ephesus, which primarily served educational purposes. The use of Aristotle's ethics in the classroom continued into the late Byzantine period, but until recently scholastic use of the NE was known mostly through George Pachymeres' epitome of the NE (Book 11 of his Philosophia). This volume radically changes the landscape by providing the editio princeps of the last surviving exegetical commentary on the NE stricto sensu, also penned by Pachymeres. This represents a new witness to the importance of Aristotelian studies in the cultural revival of late Byzantium. The editio princeps is accompanied by an English translation and a thorough introduction, which offers an informed reading of the commentary's genre and layout, relationship to its sources, exegetical strategies, and philosophical originality. This book also includes the edition of diagrams and scholia accompanying Pachymeres' exegesis, whose paratextual function is key to a full understanding of the work.

Galen was notable in the ancient world for his creative intermingling of medicine and practical ethics. This book is the first authoritative analysis of Galen's psychological and ethical works alongside a large number of his technical tracts, both medical and philosophical, and offers a robust framework through which we can comprehend his role as a practical ethicist - an aspect of his intellectual profile that has been little understood until now. Sophia Xenophontos explores a wide range of literature on moralia in the Roman imperial period, as well as topics including the pathology of emotions, the social role of medicine, and character formation and social ethics, to show the sophisticated and complex ways in which moral themes and controversies from antiquity were adapted and reinvigorated by Galen. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

In addition to being the author of the Parallel Lives of noble Greeks and Romans, Plutarch of Chaeronea (AD c.46-c.120) is widely known for his rich ethical theory, which has ensured him a reputation as one of the most profound moralists in antiquity and beyond. Previous studies have considered Plutarch's moralism in the light of specific works or group of works, so that an exploration of his overall concept of ethical education remains a desideratum. Bringing together a wide range of texts from both the Parallel Lives and the Moralia, this study puts the moralising agents that Plutarch considers important for ethical development at the heart of its interpretation. These agents operate in different educational settings, and perform distinct moralising roles, dictated by the special features of the type of moral education they are expected to enact. Ethical education in Plutarch becomes a distinctive manifestation of paideia vis-a-vis the intellectual trends of the Imperial period, especially in contexts of cultural identity and power. By reappraising Plutarch's ethical authority and the significance of his didactic spirit, this book will appeal not only to scholars and students of Plutarch, but to anyone interested in the history of moral education and the development of Greek ethics.

This volume focuses on the relationship between Greek medical texts and their audience(s), offering insights into how not only the backgrounds and skills of medical authors but also the contemporary environment affected issues of readership, methodology and mode of exposition. One of the volume's overarching aims is to add to our understanding of the role of the reader in the contextualisation of Greek medical literature in the light of interesting case-studies from various - often radically different - periods and cultures, including the Classical (such as the Hippocratic corpus) and Roman Imperial period (for instance Galen), and the Islamic and Byzantine world. Promoting, as it does, more in-depth research into the intricacies of Greek medical writings and their diverse revival and transformation from the fifth century BC down to the fourteenth century AD, this volume will be of interest to classicists, medical historians and anyone concerned with the reception of the Greek medical tradition. Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/OA+PDFs+for+Cara/9781472487919_oachapter3.pdf Chapter 6 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/OA+PDFs+for+Cara/9781472487919_oachapter6.pdf Chapter 9 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/OA+PDFs+for+Cara/9781472487919_oachapter9.pdf

This volume focuses on the relationship between Greek medical texts and their audience(s), offering insights into how not only the backgrounds and skills of medical authors but also the contemporary environment affected issues of readership, methodology and mode of exposition. One of the volume's overarching aims is to add to our understanding of the role of the reader in the contextualisation of Greek medical literature in the light of interesting case-studies from various - often radically different - periods and cultures, including the Classical (such as the Hippocratic corpus) and Roman Imperial period (for instance Galen), and the Islamic and Byzantine world. Promoting, as it does, more in-depth research into the intricacies of Greek medical writings and their diverse revival and transformation from the fifth century BC down to the fourteenth century AD, this volume will be of interest to classicists, medical historians and anyone concerned with the reception of the Greek medical tradition. Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/OA+PDFs+for+Cara/9781472487919_oachapter3.pdf Chapter 6 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/OA+PDFs+for+Cara/9781472487919_oachapter6.pdf Chapter 9 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/OA+PDFs+for+Cara/9781472487919_oachapter9.pdf

On Morals or Concerning Education is an exhortation on the importance of education by the prolific late-Byzantine author and statesman Theodore Metochites (1270-1332), who rose to the aristocracy from a middle-class background but fell from favor late in life and died as a monk. As a manual of proper living and ethical guidance, the treatise offers unique insights into the heightened roles of philosophy and rhetoric at a time when the elite engaged intensely with their Hellenic heritage, part of a larger imperial attempt to restore Byzantium to its former glories. On Morals probes hotly disputed issues in fourteenth-century Byzantine society, such as the distinction between the active and contemplative life and the social position of scholars. Metochites's focus on the character and function of Christian faith also reflects ongoing debates regarding the philosophy of religion. Occasional autobiographical digressions offer fascinating glimpses of Metochites's distinctive personality. This volume provides the full Byzantine Greek text alongside the first English translation of one of Metochites's longest works.

Authored by an interdisciplinary team of experts, including historians, classicists, philosophers and theologians, this original collection of essays offers the first authoritative analysis of the multifaceted reception of Greek ethics in late antiquity and Byzantium (ca. 3rd-14th c.), opening up a hitherto under-explored topic in the history of Greek philosophy. The essays discuss the sophisticated ways in which moral themes and controversies from antiquity were reinvigorated and transformed by later authors to align with their philosophical and religious outlook in each period. Topics examined range from ethics and politics in Neoplatonism and ethos in the context of rhetorical theory and performance to textual exegesis on Aristotelian ethics. The volume will appeal to scholars and students in philosophy, classics, patristic theology, and those working on the history of education and the development of Greek ethics.