In this volume, Gertz attempts to “present and analyse” the late Neoplatonic understanding of Plato's Phaedo, by means of a close examination of the commentaries on that work written by Olympiodorus and Damascius (1). Unfortunately, the poor state of the manuscripts makes his project somewhat difficult—the introductory notes to both commentaries are lost, Damascius's is preserved only in note form (1), and Olympiodorus's breaks off before the end (151). Gertz thus allows himself to “draw freely” on a rich background of texts, by philosophers such as Plotinus, Alcinous, Porphyry, Iamblichus, Proclus, and Priscian, to inform his reading of Olympiodorus's and Damascius's discussions (5–6). This enables him to place them in context and to determine probable areas of innovation, though it also makes the text dense and the thread sometimes difficult to follow. A huge amount of scholarship has evidently gone into producing this volume, and the result is a...
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