Olympiodorus the Elder
Encyclopedia
Olympiodorus the Elder was a 5th century peripatetic philosopher who taught in Alexandria
, in the late years of the Western Roman Empire
. He is most famous for being the teacher of the important Neoplatonist Proclus
, (410-485) whom Olympiodorus wanted to marry his own daughter.
Owing to the rapidity of his utterance and the difficulty of the subjects on which he treated, he was understood by very few. When his lectures were concluded, Proclus used to repeat the topics treated of in them for the benefit of those pupils who were slower in catching the meaning of their master. Olympiodorus had the reputation of being an eloquent man and a profound thinker. Nothing of his has come down to us in a written form.
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, in the late years of the Western Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. He is most famous for being the teacher of the important Neoplatonist Proclus
Proclus
Proclus Lycaeus , called "The Successor" or "Diadochos" , was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major Classical philosophers . He set forth one of the most elaborate and fully developed systems of Neoplatonism...
, (410-485) whom Olympiodorus wanted to marry his own daughter.
Owing to the rapidity of his utterance and the difficulty of the subjects on which he treated, he was understood by very few. When his lectures were concluded, Proclus used to repeat the topics treated of in them for the benefit of those pupils who were slower in catching the meaning of their master. Olympiodorus had the reputation of being an eloquent man and a profound thinker. Nothing of his has come down to us in a written form.