Ancient Philosophy
Ancient philosophy, Ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman philosophy emerged, developed, and flourished in the slave-owning society (6th century BC–early 6th century AD).
According to the renowned Byzantine philosopher Themistius (317–388), Georgian philosophy was already familiar with the Antique philosophy in the early 4th century AD, in the context of Neoplatonism. In the so-called Highest Rhetorical School of Colchis, beyond Themistius, his father, philosopher Eugenios, also studied there. According to this source, Georgians were educated at this school. Neoplatonism was an attempt at a synthesis of the entire philosophical system of the ancient world based on Plato’s philosophy. Therefore, it is permissible to assume that ancient philosophy was taught thoroughly in the Rhetorical School of Colchis. By the end of the 4th century, Greek sources considered Bacurius the Iberian an important thinker. A well-known Neoplatonic philosopher and a strong opponent of Christianity, Libanius (314–394) considered Bacurius his contemporary.
Thus, in the 4th century, two distinct schools of Neoplatonism emerged in Georgia: first, closely associated with Christianity and the educational activities of Eugenios and Themistius, and second, that actively opposed Christianity, similar to Libanius. In the 5th century, a well-known theologian, Peter the Iberian, worked in the city of Gaza, a center for the reevaluation of antique philosophy to fit Christian standards. According to the hypostasis of Sh. Nutsubidze and E. Honigman, he is the author of Pseudo-Dionysius’ Areopagitica.
In the 10th century, people started to get interested in ancient philosophy. In the “Martyrdom of Abibos of Nekressi," there are criticisms about the notion that the world is comprised of four elements (water, earth, air, and fire). "The Wisdom of Balavarian" presents the physical-teleological and ontological interpretations of the existence of God. According to Giorgi Merchule, the study of philosophy was an essential part of education in this era. This tendency was further strengthened by Ioane Petritsi, who translated Aristotle's Topics and On Interpretation, Nemesius of Emesa’s On Human Nature, and Proclus Diadochus’ Elements of Theology.
Additionally, the deep knowledge of antique philosophy is illustrated by religious and secular poetry (Davit Aghmashenebeli, Chakhuradze, Shavtelli, and Rustaveli). Erudition about this philosophy is reflected in Leksikoni Kartuli (Georgian Dictionary), which demonstrated achievements of the 12th century. S. Dodoshvili’s Logic, published in St. Petersburg in 1827, develops interesting concepts about ancient philosophy.
In 20th-century Georgia, a systemic study of antique philosophy is connected to Tbilisi State University, where D. Uznadze held seminars about the works of Plato. In 1923, S. Danelia proposed an original position in his work titled About the Predecessors of Aristoteles.
The important problems of antique philosophy were explored by Sh. Khidasheli, T. Kukava, M. Chelidze, and others. The tradition of translation was revived: Sokrat's "Apology" was translated by Kaukhchishvili in 1926; Aristotle's "Poetics" by Danielia in 1944; "Democritus. Epicurus. Fragments, Letters" in 1959; "Metaphysics" in 1964; "Rhetoric" in 1982, all three by T. Kukava; Plato's "Phaedo" in 1966; "Symposium" in 1973; and many other dialogues were translated by B. Bregvadze. Xenophon's "Memories of Socrates: Memorabilia and Apology" was translated by A. Urushadze in 1973.
Literature: კეკელიძე კ., ძველი ქართული ლიტერატურის ისტოირა, ტ. 1- 2, თბ., 1980 – 81; ნუცუბიძე შ., ქართული ფილოსოფიის ისტორია, ტ. 1 – 2, თბ., 1956 – 58; ყაუხჩიშვილი ს., ბერძნული ლიტერატურის ისტორია, ტ. 3 - ბიზანტიური პერიოდის ლიტერატურა, თბ., 1973; Хидашели Ш. В., Вопросы грузинского Ренессанса, Тб., 1984.
G. Tevzadze
