Themistius, Heavens and Elements. Interpretations of Aristotle’s Cosmology Across the Ages

Project Information

THEIA

Grant agreement ID: 892630

DOI

10.3030/892630

Project closed

EC signature date 20 March 2020

Start date 1 June 2020

End date 31 May 2022

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 196 707,84

EU contribution

€ 196 707,84

Coordinated by

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - THEIA (Themistius, Heavens and Elements. Interpretations of Aristotle’s Cosmology Across the Ages)

Reporting period: 2020-06-01 to 2022-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The THEIA project conducted a study on the paraphrase of Aristotle’s De Caelo done by the 4th century philosopher and rhetorician Themistius.
The aim of the project was to shed light on his presentation of the Aristotelian cosmos. The importance of the paraphrase in the history of Aristotelianism is beyond doubt, as it is the first complete exegesis of the De Caelo that has come down to us (even if not in the original Greek which is lost). Themistius’ paraphrase is attested in a medieval Hebrew version of the lost Arabic version, and in a Hebrew-into-Latin version. THEIA has edited, translated into English, and commented upon the Hebrew, and the Latin versions of Themistius’ paraphrase. Special attention has been paid to the lemmas of Aristotle’s De Caelo interspersed in the paraphrase: the retroversion of some into Greek was possible and it will provide the philologists with an important piece of documentation: parts of the text of Aristotle’s De Caelo as it was read in the 4th century, i.e. five centuries before the most ancient manuscript of it. The tasks accomplished by THEIA will allow the scholars in the field to get a more complete picture of 4th century Aristotelianism.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

List of the scientific achievements carried out during the project research activity.

Themistius’ paraphrase of Aristotle’s In De Caelo – Arabic into Hebrew version by Zerahyah ben Yizhaq ben Shealtiel Hen ha-Sefardi (Rome 1284). Revision of the manuscript tradition, with special focus on the relationship between the archetype of the tradition (Florence II.II.528) and the Latin translation by Alatino, made on a Hebrew ms now lost. Analysis of the indirect tradition, constitution of the critical text, preparation of the two apparatus layers (fontium, and criticus), drafting of English translation, preparation of the philological/philosophical commentary.

Themistius’ paraphrase of Aristotle’s In De Caelo – Hebrew into Latin version by Moses Alatino between 1568 and 1573 (Venice 1574). Transcription of the editio princeps of the Hebrew-Latin translation of Themistius' paraphrase has been done on the copy of the editio princeps held in the Biblioteca Universitaria of Pisa ; preparation of the two apparatus layers (fontium, and criticus).

Organization, with Prof. Tiziano Dorandi, of an International Meeting held in Paris (Bibliothèque du Saulchoir) on May 3-4, 2022. Title: Autour de Thémistius. Marta BORGO (Commissio Leonina, Paris), Rémi BRAGUE (Université de Paris I “Sorbonne”, LMU München), Elisa CODA (CNRS, Paris), Thérèse-Anne DRUART (The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC), Gerhard ENDRESS (Ruhr-Universität Bochum), Guy GULDENTOPS (Thomas-Institut, Universität zu Köln), Concetta LUNA (Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa), Arnaldo MARCONE (Università di Roma “Tre”), Anna MARMODORO (Durham University, UK), Cecilia MARTINI (Università di Padova), Dominic O’MEARA (Université de Fribourg, Suisse), Filippomaria PONTANI (Università “Ca’ Foscari”, Venezia), Alberto J. QUIROGA PUERTAS (Universidad de Granada), Michael SCHRAMM (Georg-August Universität Göttingen), Richard C. TAYLOR (Marquette University, WI). Other renowned scholars acted as CHAIRS: Maroun AOUAD (Centre Jean Pépin CNRS, Paris), Cristina D’ANCONA (Università di Pisa), Tiziano DORANDI (Centre Jean Pépin CNRS, Paris), Philippe HOFFMANN (Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Paris).

Provisional title of the Proceedings: Coda E. (ed.), Autour de Thémsitius. Proceedings of the International Meeting of the MSCA Project THEIA held in Paris (Bibliothèque du Saulchoir, 3-4 May, 2022), Brepols, PATMA Series Brepols, PATMA Series, publication expected in Winter 2024).

This Meeting is the first devoted to Themistius and the collection of scholarly articles that will be issued from it will be the first in any modern language devoted to Themistius’s exegesis of Aristotelian thought and its influence on Late Ancient Neoplatonism and on Arabic and Latin Middle Ages.

Scientific fields of training, as scheduled: Classical Philology and Greek Language. Other fields of training: Management of financial resources; Horizon Europe (APRE).

Publications including a reference to EU funding and available in OpenAire:
• Coda E. (ed.), Letture medievali di Aristotele: il De Caelo e le Meteore, Pisa University Press (Series Greco arabo latino, STUDI), ISBN, 2022, 484 pp.; doi:
• Coda E. (2020): Common Sense in Themistius and its Reception in the pseudo-Philoponus and Avicenna. In: D. Bennett et alii (eds.), Mechanisms of Sense Perception, Springer (Series Studies in the History of the Philosophy of Mind), Berlin 2020 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56946-4_7.
• Coda E., Themistius on Intellect. Theophrastus and Plotinus as Sources of In De Anima III 5, “Studia graeco-arabica” 10 (2020), pp. 1-20 doi: 10.53130/2239-012X-2020-2.

Forthcoming publications, including a reference to EU funding:
• Coda E., God, Cosmos and Soul. Themistius and the Medieval Aristotle (Forthcoming : Brepols, PATMA Series, 2023).
• Coda E. (ed.), Autour de Thémsitius. Proceedings of the International Meeting held in Paris (Bibliothèque du Saulchoir, 3-4 May, 2022), Brepols, PATMA Series Brepols, PATMA Series, Forthcoming : Winter 2024).
• Coda E., Aristotle’s lemmas in Themistius’s In De Caelo (planned for: Studia graeco-arabica, 2024).
• Coda E., Themistius, Paraphrase of Aristotle’s De Caelo. A critical edition of the Hebrew- Latin versions, with an Introduction, and English translations (CAGB Series Forthcoming).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

THEIA has pursued a two-handed approach, studying both the textual tradition of Themistius’s paraphrase of Aristotle’s De Caelo as such, and the impact of Themistius’s interpretation of Aristotle’s cosmology on Arabic and Latin Middle Ages. THEIA achieved a new critical edition of both the Hebrew and the Latin versions of the paraphrase. These will help to include this important step in the history of the reception of Aristotle in the stream of the scholarship on the topic. From a methodological point of view, THEIA has proved to be ground-breaking: the strategy of Themistius’s paraphrase, that consists in putting in Aristotle’s own mouth the solution of a difficulty that had been envisaged in reality only by Alexander, or Plotinus, has been systematically analysed, this serving as a model for the study of other paraphrases (e.g. Avicenna’s or Sophonias’).

THEIA Final Meeting – Autour de Thémistius