Mnoga lica demijurga: književna recepcija Platonovog Timaja u srednjem veku i renesansi

The Timaeus holds a special place in the body of Plato’s works. Modern scholarly evaluations range from considering it the most difficult of Plato’s writings to comprehend, to regarding it as the most important work in the Corpus Platonicum. Such variations in assessments are not surprising as it is an exceptionally complex text, weaving together themes of cosmogony, cosmology, metaphysics and anthropology. The manuscript tradition has also contributed to these diverse evaluations, setting the Timaeus apart from others. It is the only Platonic work that was almost continuously available to the European West throughout the Middle Ages, albeit in translation and in fragmentary form. Even so, it exerted a strong influence on philosophy and theology, especially in the Renaissance. In this essay I briefly address the manuscript tradition of the Timaeus and its interpretations in the Latin West: from Cicero’s and Calcidius’s translations, through the interpretations of Christian theologians, to Marsilio Ficino. Considering its lasting and multifaceted influence, I approach the Timaeus as an exemplary case study in the field of reception studies, arguing that its interpretations in different epochs speak more about the epochs themselves and their cultural-historical and social context than about the dialogue proper. Moreover, Ficino’s interpretation is a significant case of marginal reception, which never became part of the mainstrean but nevertheless has its important role in the history of ideas.