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Plethon

Name: George Gemistos Plethon

Nickname/Alias: born: Georgius Gemistos; Gemistus Pletho

Achievements: Late Byzantine philosopher, humanist and scholar who did much to reduce the influence of Aristotle in the West in the 15th century.

Born: c. 1355; Constantinople

Died: 25 June 1452; Mistra, Morea, Greece (Aged about 97)

Field & Discipline: Philosophy; Humanist

Language: Greek; Latin

Father: Unknown

Mother: Unknown

Siblings: Unknown

Spouse: None

Children: None

Education: Constantinople and at the Ottoman court in Adrianople

Major Work:

“On the Differences Between Aristotle and Plato,” 1439

Life & Times:

Plethon appears to have believed in the Platonic theory of “ideas,” in personal immortality, in determinism, and in the worship of the pagan Greek gods, and to have evolved a new constitution modelled on Plato's republic.

During the late 14th century he established at Mistra a community devoted to the rebirth of Hellenism through these doctrines, which he believed would replace all existing forms of belief. Through his school Plethon appears to have exerted a strong influence over some of the leading Greek intellectuals of the next half century, especially [influenced] Bessarion*, who was a pupil at Mistra in the 1430s.

In 1413, Plethon wrote two pamphlets addressed to the Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus of Constantinople (reigned 1391-1425) concerning the affairs of the Greek region on the Peloponnese, in which he set out a political and social scheme based on his philosophical ideas. Plethon's political philosophy was directed towards the complete reformation of Peloponnese society into three social classes: farmers, merchants, and officers of state, the first two supporting the state with their products and money, and the third with military service.

The following year he proposed building a wall across the Isthmus of Corinth and a complete reorganization of the civil and military society, based on the simplification of the tax system and the establishment of a national army to replace the use of mercenaries. The wall was built.

Plethon was appointed a judge at Constantinople in the 1420s. In 1428 he was consulted

by Manuel's successor, Emperor John VIII Palaeologus (reigned 1425-48), concerning the reunion of the Byzantine and Roman churches, through which John VIII hoped to get western support against the Turks.

A decade later, Plethon, now aged around 83, was made a delegate to the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438-45), convened in an attempt to reunite the churches. Plethon counselled extreme caution.

Although now a convert to Christianity,  Plethon remained a supporter of Neoplatonic philosophy, and in 1439 at Florence he wrote "On the Difference Between the Platonic and Aristotelian Philosophies,” a defence of  [a follower of] Plato* against the criticisms of [opposed the views of] Aristotle*, dealing with the theory of ideas, immortality, and creation.

This seems to have been inspired by debates with Florentine humanists he met at Florence, such as  [influenced] Cosimo de' Medici The Elder* (who was so taken by Plethon he decided to recreate the Platonic Academy at Florence).

On his return to Mistra in 1441, Plethon composed and published his chief work, “The Code of Laws,”  written in imitation of Plato's “Laws.” The work was a vision of a political utopia modelled on classic Athenian culture. Proposing an idealized paganism built on Neoplatonic philosophy, Plethon argued: that human happiness is the result of harmony between man's nature and the universe, of which man is only a part; that

sin is only error, and morality and religion can achieve only earthly (not heavenly) happiness; and that in death the soul returns to a spiritual (not a supernatural) state, and will exist eternally in a sinless and happy condition. The work also contains a description of the liturgy of the proposed new religion

Plethon also introduced to the West of the “Geography” of Strabo, the 1st century B.C. Greek geographer and historian, which ultimately led to the overthrow of  [helped supersede views of] Ptolemy's* geographical theories, and powerfully influenced the Renaissance view of the Earth. 

In this way,  Plethon played an important, if indirect, role in the discovery of America by [influenced] Columbus*, who quoted Strabo among his principal authorities.

Assessment: Plethon fired the humanists of the mid-15th century with a new interest in Plato, who had been largely ignored in the West during the Middle Ages because of the Scholastic preoccupation with Aristotle.

Oneliner: Gemistos Plethon,  influential Renaissance scholar

Bibliography: