Numenius of Apamea c. 150 AD – c. 200 AD
Numenius of Apamea was a Greek-Syrian Pythagorean and Middle Platonist philosopher and one of the most important precursors of Plotinus and Neoplatonism. His doctrine of three gods, with a transcendent Father, a creative Demiurge, and a created world, anticipated the later Neoplatonic hierarchy of being, while his extensive engagement with Jewish and Eastern wisdom traditions, including the famous question of whether Plato is anything but Moses speaking Attic, marks an early stage of cross-cultural philosophical inquiry. His writings survive only in fragments preserved by Eusebius and Proclus.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Greek-Syrian
- Era
- Ancient
- Movements
- Platonism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Numenius of Apamea:
“What is Plato but Moses speaking Attic Greek?”
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Attributed to Numenius of Apamea:
“There is one supreme God, beyond the being of the world.”
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Attributed to Numenius of Apamea:
“The Demiurge is the second God, the maker of the visible cosmos.”
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Attributed to Numenius of Apamea:
“Wisdom is older than philosophy and is found in many peoples.”
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Attributed to Numenius of Apamea:
“The soul is immortal and pre-existent to the body.”