Mapping Daimonology from Plato’s Early Academy to the Roman Empire

Abstract

This thesis contributes to our understanding of the relationship between ancient philosophy and religion through a systematic study of daimonology as a discipline that overlaps with both of these domains. It aims to address daimonology as an autonomous branch of philosophy that interweaves cosmological and theological theories, within a broader history of ancient philosophy.
The study of ancient daimonology has remained a persistent challenge for modern scholars, due to its ambiguous philosophical status, and the vast number of testimonies available on the subject. Indeed, ancient daimonology cannot be fully understood without a profound awareness of the philosophical discourse from which it emerges, the influence of antecedent literary and philosophical traditions, and the weight of conventional religious beliefs regarding daimons across several ancient cultures. Through an in-depth analysis of its prevalence in various debates, this thesis argues that ancient daimonology plays a key role in resolving a number of major philosophical issues, such as the nature of the soul, theories of happiness, and doctrines of providence.
This thesis showcases a comprehensive analysis of key moments in ancient daimonology, which are presented chronologically and divided according to philosophical school: (1) the Early Academy, with a focus on Xenocrates and the pseudo-Platonic Epinomis; (2) Stoicism, with particular attention to its developments in Roman Stoicism; and (3) Middle Platonism, with reference to Platonist theories of providence, cosmic evil, and the individual soul.