Implications of the New Alexander of Aphrodisias Inscription

Abstract

The new inscription dedicated to his father by the Aristotelian commentator Alexander of Aphrodisias does not help us in establishing his dates more precisely. It does, however, show conclusively for the first time that his post was at Athens, and strongly suggests that at the end of the second century AD the term diadokhos 'successor' was applied to the imperially appointed holders of the chairs of philosophy at Athens. It also provides us with a possible candidate for the authorship of works attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias but not apparently by him, notably Onfevers.Alexander of Aphrodisias, the commentator on Aristotle, has up till now been a rather shadowy figure historically; many of his works survive, and more are known from extensive quotations in later writers, but about his life and career little was known beyond the one fact, attested in the prologue to his treatise On Fate, that at some time between AD 198 and 209 he was appointed to a post of teacher of Aristotelian philosophy sponsored by the emperors.' The discovery ofthe inscription by him at Aphrodisias to his father gives him a reality for us as an individual which he did not have before.' It is the purpose of the present paper to examine what new information and insights the inscription provides.3

Greek Medical Literature and its Readers

“…Any remaining inaccuracies are my own, as are all translations. 1 As to the collection's historical authorship, an intriguing theory was put forward by Sharples (2005). Sharples argues that our pseudo-Alexander (and also the one from part of the Supplementary Problems and On Fevers) may actually be identified with the Commentator's father, who, so we know from recent epigraphical evidence, bore the same name and also was a philosopher.…”

“…Ideler (1841: 3-80). For an attempt to outline the complex bibliographical details on the problems attributed to Alexander, see Sharples (1987Sharples ( : 1198. A new edition is currently being prepared by Carl-Gustaf Lindqvist (University of Gothenburg), which is "eagerly awaited" (to use the words of Kapetanaki and Sharples 2006: 1, n. 1).…”

Roman Inscriptions 2001–2005

“…These important inscriptions have the honour of being the subject of independent publications by two pairs of scholars in the same year. 235 L. Egnatius Victor Lollianus (PIR 2 E 36), already well attested as proconsul of Asia for a 229 Sharples (2005). 230 van Bremen (2005 Christol and Drew-Bear (2003) and Herrmann and Malay (2003)…”