Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)
Plato Latinus
Oct 11, 2023
Exploring the decline of intelligibility in Latin and Greek in the Roman Empire, and the fate of Plato and Platonism in western Europe. Highlighting the impact of language on Western esotericism and the influence of Platonism on Western Christianity.
29:41
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Quick takeaways
- The decline of Greek fluency in Latin-speaking areas limited access to rich textual esoteric material and prevented the development of metaphysically adventurous ideas found in Eastern Christianity.
- Plato's writings were mostly lost in the Latin Middle Ages, leading to the reception of mutant strains of Platonism within Western Christianity as his ideas were molded to fit Christian dogmas.
Deep dives
Language diversity in the Roman Empire
In the Roman Empire, people were often polyglot, speaking their native language at home while needing to know either Greek or Latin to communicate with others. This linguistic diversity was a fact of everyday life and was crucial in the transmission of Western esotericism.
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