Preface

This is the second volume (the first was volume 18 in the TSEC series) of our foray into the Platonic philosophy of late antiquity, but in this case, we delve further into the later monotheistic traditions of the Byzantine, Latin, Oriental Christian, Jewish, and Muslim worlds. It began with a conference at Macquarie University on Byzantine Neoplatonism in November 2018, which was followed by a workshop on The Historical Aspects of Defining Byzantine Philosophy in March 2020, a couple of weeks before emergency measures began to be imposed both in Australia and across the world in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Both events were supported by the Australian Research Council (in the context of Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides’ Future Fellowship Award, 2017–2021, FT160100453), a Macquarie University Faculty of Arts Themed Research Grant, and the Australasian Hellenic Educational Progressive Association. The editors would like to thank all three institutions as well as Hugo Branley for compiling the indices.

We have been fortunate to supplement the original line up of speakers with a range of additional papers. Some contributors have chosen to concentrate on individual figures, while others have taken a broader view of a particular topic, then again others have concentrated on the history of reception. Whatever form they have chosen for their contribution we believe that each adds to the rationale of the volume in presenting a broad spectrum showing the geographical and community spread of the late Platonic tradition. If ever there was a philosophy without borders it was surely what we know today as Neoplatonism.