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Macrobius and his influence on the neo-Platonic interpretation of myths
Hlaváček, Jakub ; Putna, Martin C. (advisor) ; Kratochvíl, Zdeněk (referee) ; Pokorný, Martin (referee)
The dissertation outlines the fundamental topics in Macrobius' poetics and philosophy which were to serve as the theoretical grounding for the literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Our main focus was Macrobius' treatment of poetic modes imitations (imitatio) and its relation to a broader philosophical framework wherein poetic modes, viewed as ontological archetypes, represent the world of ideas. We have shown that imitation draws heavily on imagination, which in Late Antiquity became rather highly valued. We have seen that the creative treatment of a textual model (archetype) is rooted in the Stoic analogy of godly and human creative acts. The dissertation explains Macrobius' interpretation of myths and his arguments defending their use in philosophy. I believe that it was Macrobius' defence of the "truth of myths" (albeit we have seen that Macrobius was heavily drawing on Proclos here whose influence, however, was minimal) which lies at the heart of the medieval and Renaissance revival of interest in myths. Finally, we have discussed what role myths and other leading themes of the neo-Platonic and Stoic philosophy of Late Antiquity played in the alchemist literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
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