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Synonyms/Alternate Names

Ioannis Argiropoulos; Giovanni Argiropulo; Giovanni Argyropulos

Biography

John Argyropoulos was born in Constantinople or in Crete. His date of birth is dubious, although modern scholarship accepts 1393–1394 as the most probable year of his birth. Instead John Monfasani proposed 1405 as the year of his birth. Older sources placed his birth in 1410 or 1415; according to a dubious epistle, he was 76 when he died. His family was wealthy and respectable in Constantinople. Argyropoulos’ parents died when he was a child and his relatives sent him to Salonika to study under Alexios Phorvinos, a famous teacher. A few years later he returned to Constantinople and continued his studies under John Chortasmenos (1370–1437), an ardent philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. In a letter to Georgius Trapezuntius (1395–1472), a Cretan scholar who made a considerable career in Italy, Argyropoulos praised the famous teachers of his youth, who instructed him ancient wisdom. It is possible that Georgius Gemistus Pletho (1355–1454) was among Argyropoulos’ teachers. During the 1420s – probably 1424 – Argyropoulos moved to Crete, although he claimed that he was already a successful scholar in Constantinople. There, he engaged in a dispute with Georgius Trapezuntius. At times, Argyropoulos and Trapezuntius worked as tutors in Crete. In 1425, Emperor Manuel II Paleologus assigned him the direction of a public school in Constantinople. Within the same year, he became a priest and was appointed as an imperial judge. According to the historian Ducas, Argyropoulos participated in the Council of Ferrara – Florence (1438–1439), although his role in the Council was not crucial. For the rest of his life, Argyropoulos remained a pro-unionist and at a later point he probably converted to Catholicism. After the end of the Council, Argyropoulos probably returned to Constantinople with the rest of the Byzantine delegates and continued his teaching activities. Among his students was Francesco Filelfo’s (1398–1481) son. The Italian humanist lived in Constantinople and worked in the emperor’s court. Filelfo entrusted his son to Argyropoulos because the latter’s reputation as a scholar was high in Byzantium and Italy. Around the same time, he wrote the Comedy of Katablattas, a very interesting text in which he gave useful information about his personal life. Specifically, he ridiculed Demetrios Katadokeinos or Katadoukinos who was a judge in Constantinople. Katadokeinos accused Argyropoulos of impiety and atheism. Argyropoulos was brilliant enough to reply indirectly in order to doubt Katadokeinos’ integrity and moral status. It is possible that the serious accusations against him forced him to leave his successful teaching career and seek his fortune in Italy. In 1441, he traveled to Italy and settled in Padua. He became the protégé of Palla Strozzi (1372–1462), a Florentine exile in Padua who was interested in ancient Greek language and culture. With the aid of Andronicus Callistus (1400–1486) – another Greek humanist who built his career in Italy – Argyropoulos taught the youth and elder citizens of the city Greek language and philosophy. Palla’s support was crucial for Argyropoulos, since Palla was wealthy and influential. During his stay in Italy, he studied philosophy and medicine at the University of Padua and in 1444 he obtained the degree of doctor from the same University. Despite his career and reputation in Constantinople, Argyropoulos thought that it would be useful for his future plans to have studied in one of the best European universities. It seems probable that he planned to move to Italy even before the fall of Constantinople. After the completion of his studies in Padua, he returned to Constantinople and to his students. Among them, we should distinguish Constantine Laskaris (1434–1501), Michael Apostolis (1422–1478), Antonios Pyropoulos, Manuel Pyropoulos, John Panaretos, Demetrius Angelos, and others. Argyropoulos mentioned that even people from Italy came to attend his lessons. He taught Aristotelian logic, Galenic medicine, and philosophy of nature at the Xenon of Kral. He was a leading figure in a circle of physicians at Constantinople. Moreover, there are several testimonies that Argyropoulos was also a successful copyist. Before the final Turkish siege of Constantinople, Argyropoulos accompanied Cardinal Isidore to his delegation to Pope Nicholas V. Cardinal Isidore worked as a mediator between the Orthodox and the Catholic Church in order to reinforce the Byzantine army against the Turks. Besides the Catholic Church and the Western Christian leaders, Argyropoulos sought the salvation of the empire in classical heritage, a possible aura of Pletho’s influence on him. Namely, he exhorted the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Paleologus to proclaim himself King of the Hellenes. Argyropoulos wrote an oration entitled Basilikos e peri basileias in which he grabbed the chance to declare his political views and exhort the emperor to seek help in Western Europe. Argyropoulos held that kingship was the best form of government. In order to strengthen his views, he resorted to arguments taken from ancient Greek philosophical texts. According to the correspondence between the Pope and his prelates in Constantinople, Argyropoulos was an active pro-unionist in the last days of the Byzantine Empire. As a result of the fall of Constantinople, Argyropoulos lost his possessions and his family was captured. He was obliged to spend the next 3 or 4 years collecting money so as to set his family free. It was a really difficult period for him because simultaneously he was trying to find a job in Italy and move there. During a trip to Italy, he was introduced to Donato Acciaiuoli (1429–1478), a relative of Argyropoulos’ patron Palla Strozzi. Acciaiuoli encouraged him to submit his candidacy for a professorship at the Florentine Studium. Although his candidacy was not accepted with excitement since the local authorities preferred a native Italian for the position, his supporters in Florence were able to assure his election as professor of Greek language and philosophy in 1456. Meanwhile, Argyropoulos visited Pope Calixtus III (1378–1458) as a delegate of Thomas Paleologus (1409/10-1465) – the despot of Mystra, who aspired to get aid from the Europeans in order to defend Peloponnese from the Turks. From Rome, he headed to Milan, where he met the Sforza family, France, and England. Besides his mission, it is probable that he sought support in order to reunite and liberate his family which remained captive. Before his installation in Florence, he visited Greece and managed to bring his family to Italy. Argyropoulos started to give his lectures in 1457. Instead of the standard Italian humanistic preference of rhetoric and bene dicendi, Argyropoulos chose a more philosophical approach because he insisted on the superiority of philosophy, especially metaphysics and philosophy of nature. He instructed his students Aristotelian Ethics and Politics; then he taught the De anima and lectured on physics and metaphysics. In addition to his morning courses, he taught private lessons to selected students in the afternoon at his home. In these private lessons, he expounded Aristotelian logic and even Platonic dialogues, such as the Menon. There are several testimonies that his lectures on Plato were of extraordinary quality. Argyropoulos managed to stay for the most neutral in the heated debate between Renaissance Platonists and Aristotelians concerning the philosophical primacy of either one. He held that the philosophy of Plato and of Aristotle do not differ so much, let the fact that their differences are fruitful for philosophy in the broader sense. He was so friendly to Plato that even Michael Apostolis thought of him as a Platonist and admirer of Georgius Gemistus Pletho. The students accepted with enthusiasm his approach and soon Argyropoulos became extremely popular and influential in Florence. The Florentine youth sought his teaching and guidance. Among his most illustrious students, we mention Vespasiano da Bisticci, Donato Acciaiuoli, Bernardo Platina, Alamanno Rinuccini, and Angelo Poliziano. Besides his teaching activities, Argyropoulos was an excellent translator. He translated from Greek to Latin numerous works of Aristotle, including: Categories, On Interpretations, Posterior Analytics, Prior Analytics, On Sophistical Refutations, Physics, On Heavens, On the Soul, Metaphysics, and Nicomachean Ethics. In addition, he translated Porphyry’s Isagoge. The translations were dedicated to Cosimo and Piero Medici and were probably completed between 1464 and 1469. Argyropoulos’ close ties with the Medici are proven by the fact that Lorenzo Medici was his student. Between 1467 and 1469, Argyropoulos suffered the loss of his two or three sons. Furthermore, Piero Medici died in 1469. These unfortunate events led him to leave Florence. It seems that he planned to move to Hungary, but suddenly changed his mind and preferred to stay in Rome. In 1471, Argyropoulos arrived in Rome. It is highly probable that the appointment of Pope Sixtus IV (1414–1484), who was Argyropoulos’ former colleague, and Bessarion’s (1408–1472) presence in the Curia induced him to choose Rome as his new residence. Both the Pope and Bessarion wished to reestablish Rome as the cultural center of Renaissance Italy. Argyropoulos stayed in touch with the leading Florentine families, especially the Medici, since, as a result of his hasty departure, he left behind his books and several unsolved disputes. Upon his arrival in Rome, he associated with scholars and artists of the Curia. According to several sources, he taught, besides Aristotle, Thucydides’ History. As a result of Bessarion’s death and his personal turmoil, Argyropoulos decided to leave Rome and looked for a new destination somewhere in Western Europe. During the same period, Andronicus Callistus (1400–1486) – a renowned Greek scholar who taught in Florence and other Italian and European cities – abandoned the Florentine Studium and accepted a position in Milan. In addition to Argyropoulos, another important Greek scholar, Demetrius Chalcocondyles (1423–1511), applied for Callistus’ position. In his return to Florence, Argyropoulos shaved his beard as a proof of his Latinization. That was not so common for someone in his age. Finally, in 1477, Argyropoulos was reappointed in his former position as professor in the Florentine Studium. The Florentines also hired Chalcocondyles, an indication of their interest in classical letters. Argyropoulos taught in Florence till 1481, contrary to Chalcocondyles who retained his position till 1491. In 1481, Argyropoulos was in Rome. There are contradicting testimonies concerning his later life. In several sources, he seemed to spend a lot of money and live a luxurious life, while others attested that he was poor and struggled to overcome his problems. According to Laskaris, he was obliged to sell his books in order to buy food. He died in Rome. According to not reliable sources, the cause of his death was the consumption of watermelon.

Innovative and Original Aspects

Argyropoulos was able to present to the Latin audience a comprehensive and unified version of Aristotelian philosophy. Moreover, he instructed to the Italians the Presocratics, the proper knowledge of whom was crucial for the understanding of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In his lectures on Aristotle’s Physics, he supported that the sciences were invented in Greece, after Deucalion’s flood, despite the fact that there were sciences all over the world. According to Argyropoulos, the Egyptians did not suffer from the flood and were capable of assisting the Greeks; the latter accepted their help pleasantly. But in that early period, science was in an infantile stage. Scientific truths were expressed in poetic form and were inaccurate. Philosophers knew a lot of things, but they were not able to communicate them with precision and accuracy. Pythagoras was the first who was able to widen philosophy. Furthermore, Plato achieved to set poetry aside, despite the beautiful language he used. In the Platonic dialogues, the reader could find a wide range of subjects. Argyropoulos disagreed with the Platonic insistence on the primacy of mathematical explanation of nature, a rather predictable reaction since he, as an Aristotelian, gave preponderance to physical explanation. Aristotle, the successor in that chain of knowledge, spoke about the principle of things as natural. In addition, he presented the world as unified. Argyropoulos admitted that even Aristotle retained some obscurity in his texts. It is obvious that Argyropoulos divided ancient philosophy into Presocratic, Platonic, and Aristotelian eras. It is of great importance that Argyropoulos did not follow common trends of Florentine Platonism, which included ancient mystical traditions, such as the Chaldean Oracles, the Corpus Hermeticum, etc., in the history of philosophy. According to Argyropoulos, Anaxagoras, despite his poetical tone, was probably the first true philosopher. Despite his positions, we have to bear in mind that Argyropoulos was an admirer of Plato’s hidden doctrines and even his faithful students acknowledged that his style was extremely learned and difficult in understanding. Moreover, Argyropoulos argued against Averroes on the debated issue of the soul. He admitted that Christian truths could not be proven logically, but are of greater value in comparison to the philosophy of Averroes. This is a proof that Argyropoulos did not share the pagan tendencies of the rest of the Florentine philosophers of his times. Rather, he got embroiled in the debate between Greek and Latin scholars about Cicero. Namely, Renaissance scholars appreciated Cicero and thought of him as equal to the great thinkers of ancient Greece. Cicero held that the Greek language is poorer than the Latin. Argyropoulos felt the need to reply to Cicero and accused him that he was ignorant of philosophy. In addition, Cicero did not know any Greek. Argyropoulos commented on Cicero’s views about entelechia and proved that Cicero misinterpreted the term. Several Latin scholars felt offended by Argyropoulos’ and other Greek scholars’ attack on Cicero. Poliziano (1454–1494) defended Cicero and Giovio (1483–1552) found it to be a good reason to ridicule Argyropoulos. After his oration addressed to Emperor Constantine Paleologus, Argyropoulos’ political views were further elaborated in the dedicatory prefaces of his translations, made after Cosimo Medici’s bequest. Although the Florentines presented Cosimo as a man of action, Argyropoulos preferred to depict him as a virtuous Aristotelian ruler, who guided the Florentines toward eudaimonia. Cosimo’s wealth was not a goal in itself; rather it was a means for the achievement of ideal goods, such as happiness. Argyropoulos compared Cosimo to the Platonic and Aristotelian ideal rulers. Despite the fact that Argyropoulos had ties with Bessarion, he engaged in a dispute with Theodorus Gaza (1398–1475) about Bessarion’s In Calumniatorem Platonis. When the latter’s work was published (1469), the author sent a copy to Argyropoulos, who replied with a long letter in Greek and a small one in Latin. In the former, Argyropoulos praised Bessarion and seemed to agree with his arguments against Trapezuntius. Despite the fact that he was an ardent Aristotelian, Argyropoulos did not underestimate Platonic philosophy and did not participate actively in the heated debate between Greek scholars concerning the preponderance of Plato or Aristotle. Despite his appreciation for Bessarion and his work, he pointed out an error to him and expressed his views which led Bessarion to correct his text. The disputed issue was a paraphrased Porphyry’s passage concerning whether forms are separable or inseparable, which Bessarion and Porphyry refused to answer in depth. Argyropoulos disagreed with certain words in the translation of the In Calumniatorem Platonis from Greek to Latin. Furthermore, he found Bessarion’s argument logically defective. Moreover, Argyropoulos argued that Bessarion should have wondered whether forms subsist or reside only in simple concepts. Finally, he disagreed with the cardinal on the forms being separated and being subsistent. Argyropoulos found the chance to argue against Aristotle: he supported the scholastic view that imagination resided in the heart and not in the brain, as the Stagirite held. Bessarion did not reply directly to Argyropoulos’ letter; instead, he ordered Theodorus Gaza to compose a short treatise entitled Antirrheticon against Argyropoulos’ claims. In it, Gaza attempted vainly to confront Argyropoulos’ positions. Yet he did not succeed since Argyropoulos’ remarks were valid.

Impact and Legacy

Argyropoulos lectures and translations impacted Renaissance scholars. His teaching renews the way the Latin West understood and appreciated Aristotle. His student and friend Donato Acciaiuoli published a humanistic commentary of the Nicomachean Ethics (1478) based on Argyropoulos’ work on Aristotle. Several others used his translations in order to comment on Aristotle. Erasmus frequently praised him for the quality of his translations.