Olympiodorus the Elder

Olympiodorus the Elder (Greek: Ὀλυμπιόδωρος) was a 5th-century neoplatonist 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 (412–485), whom Olympiodorus wanted his own daughter to marry.

He lectured on Aristotle with considerable success. 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 for being an eloquent man and a profound thinker. Nothing of his has come down to us in a written form.

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