Ancient Philosophy · Part 23 · Rome, Alexandria and beyond · C1
Philo of Alexandria: Plato and the Scriptures
Part 23 of Ancient Philosophy: our own Philo, the Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, read the books of Moses through Plato and the Stoics, and found in them an allegory of the soul’s journey to God. Tonight Sophia tells him what is to come: his books, his embassy to an emperor, and who will keep his words alive. Explaining meaning (in other words, that is to say, stands for, represents, literally, figuratively), with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
You will write fifty books, Philo, and more. Tonight I will tell you what they will say, and what will happen to them. Some of it will please you; some of it will not.
Figuratively, yes. Literally, my hands are shaking.
Philo was born in Alexandria around 20 BCE, into one of the richest Jewish families of the city. His brother, Alexander, managed customs duties and lent money to kings. Philo received a full Greek education, in literature, mathematics, music and philosophy, and read the Jewish scriptures in their Greek translation.
He wrote about fifty works that survive, and many more that are lost: long commentaries on Genesis, books on the laws of Moses, a life of Moses, philosophical treatises, and two political works about the persecution of the Jews of Alexandria. He is the most important surviving Jewish writer of the period before the destruction of the Temple.
Philo read Moses through Plato and the Stoics, using allegory: behind the literal story, he found a hidden meaning about the soul, the mind and God. His method shaped how Christians, and later others, read the Bible for centuries.
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