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John Argyropoulos

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John Argyropoulos
Ιωάννης Αργυρόπουλος
John Argyropoulos (1395-1487) as perhaps depicted by Domenico Ghirlandaio in 1481. Fresco. Cappella Sistina, Vatican, Italy. 1481.[1][2][3][4]
John Argyropoulos (1395-1487) as perhaps depicted by Domenico Ghirlandaio in 1481. Fresco. Cappella Sistina, Vatican, Italy. 1481.[1][2][3][4]
OccupationScholar, politician, diplomat, philosopher
Literary movementItalian Renaissance, Greek literature, philosophy, Aristotelianism

John Argyropoulos (1395 – 26 June 1487) (Greek: Ιωάννης Αργυρόπουλος, Ioannis Argiropoulos, Italian: Giovanni Argiropulo) was a Greek[6] lecturer, philosopher and humanist, one of the émigré scholars who pioneered the revival of Classical learning in Western Europe in the 15th century.[7] He played a prominent role in the revival of Greek philosophy in Italy[8] and translated Greek philosophical and theological works into Latin besides producing rhetorical and theological works in his own. He divided his time between Italy and Constantinople.

Early life

Accordingly to recent research, John Argyropoulos was not born in 1415 but very early, circa 1395. His father was a Manuel and, as revealed by a greek contemporary poem, her mother was a Chrysobergina, so perhaps related to the three brothers Chrysoberges, Maxime, Theodore and Andrea, famous converted to Roman Church. As his parents died when he was only a boy of ten years, he was nurtured by an uncle in Thessalonica where he began his studies with the protonotarios Alexios Phorbenos. When he was fourteenth, circa 1410, he returned to Constantinople and studied here with several distinguished professors, especially the famous Georgios Gemistos Plethon, and the predicator Joseph Bryennios. But his principal master was certainly John Chortasmenos, patriarcal notary and future metropolite Ignatios of Selymbria. Influent at the patriarchate, without children and very fond of his student, Chortasmenos obtained for Argyropoulos as early as 1420 the charge of diacon and the patriarcal office of "archon tôn ekklesiôn". In 1421, still thanks to the support of Chortasmenos, Argyropoulos received from the Emperor Manuel II the autorisation to open his own private school, where he teached the Physic and the Logic of Aristote, and had for students the Italians then in Constantinople Francesco Filelfo and Giovanni Aurispa. In summer 1423, Argyropoulos left Constantinople for the Venetian Crete, with the purpose to becoming more acquainted to the latin science. He remained one year in this island where he opened a school to sustain his expenses. All what we know about this sojourn is that he entered in contact with another future humanist recently returned from Italy where he had spend the last six years, the Cretan George Trapezountios, at this time "rector scholarum" in Candia, and with the powerful ancient master of George, the protopapas of Candia John Symeonakes, who procured to Argyropoulos his only known student for this period, the young George Maurikas, son of the notary of Candia Constantio Maurikas who was related by marriage to Simeonakes. A "disputatio" organised between Argyropoulos and Trapezountios in 1424 in the church of San Tito embittered seriously their relations and was responsible for birth of an animosity which would last their both lives. Returned to Constantinople, Argyropoulos became priest in 1425, a judge, and he reopened his school. At the turning of the years thirty his carrier seems to have suffered from his bad relations with the judge Demetrios Katablattas who brought an action against him, accusing for impiety, a very serious accusation for a priest and patriarcal officer, certainly because of Argyropoulos' attachment to the polytheist ideas of his ancient master Plethon. Consequently, Argyropoulos seems to have be berefted of his patriarcal office and suffered disgrace from the ecclesiastical and also from the imperial power : indeed, contrary to what is often said, he was not invited to attend the imperial and patriarcal greek delegation at the council of Ferrare-Florence in 1437-1439, a strange fact which can only be explained by his dismissal from the patriarcal clergy, even if he remained a priest. In 1441, but more plausibly in 1442, and perhaps with the financial support of the recently raised to the dignity of cardinal of the Roman Church Bessarion, Argyropoulos left Constantinople to Italy for the university of Padua, where he earned a doctorate in 1444. At his return in Constantinople, his byzantine carrier registered important improvements, especially because he supported firmly the unionist policy of the Emperor John VIII, very disputed. Sometimes between 1448 and 1451, apparently having renounced to his charge of priest, he accompagnied the cardinal Isidore of Kiev in Rome for a quick travel to recognize officially the autority of pope Nicolas V and to ask him the entrance into the Roman clergy of his two sons, Alexandre and Nicolas. At his return he was raised to the Senate by the new Emperor Constantine XI and became the most famous professor of the Xenon of the Kral, where he had numerous students and teached philosophy and medicine. He had among his pupils the scholar Constantine Lascaris and the copist Demetrios Angelos.

Life in Italy

Prisonner with his family during the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Argyropoulos succeeded to release himself and his parents and first took refuge in the Peloponnese. In 1456, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Italy by the Despot Demetrios of the Byzantine Morea but didn't return home. From 1457 he moved permanently to Italy where he worked as a teacher in the Universities of Florence and Rome and became the head of the Greek department at Florence’s ‘Florentine Stadium’ university. He played a prominent role in the revival of Greek philosophy in Italy where he taught Greek philosophy, literature and poetry, giving his efforts to transporting Greek philosophy to Western Europe. He had students such as Pietro de' Medici and Lorenzo de' Medici. It is well known that students hailing from different parts of Europe came to see and hear him at those classes, when he taught Greek and philosophy courses. He left a number of Latin translations, including many of Aristotle's works, but his real importance lies in his work as a teacher in Italy. He died in Rome on June 26, 1487.

See also

References and Bibliography

  1. ^ Sleptzoff, L. M. (1978). Men or supermen?: The Italian portrait in the fifteenth century. Magnes Press. p. 68. OCLC 4331192. Cf. E. Steinmann, Ghirlandaio, Leipzig, 1897, pp. 18-21, and pl. 10 and 13, who recognizes, among the members of the Florentine colony in Rome, Argyropoulos and Giovanni Tornabuoni. 88. See Steinmann, op. tit., p. 40 ff.
  2. ^ Burnell, Frederic Spencer (1930). Rome. Longmans, Green & co. p. 217. OCLC 7141638. We may perhaps recognize, in the group on the right, the bearded head of the famous Greek scholar, Argyropoulos, and, immediately to the left, the wealthy banker, Giovanni Tornabuoni
  3. ^ Marle, Raimond van; Marle, Charlotte van (1923). The development of the Italian schools of painting, Volume 13. M. Nijhoff. p. 30. OCLC 162830458. Among the portraits Herr Steinmann has succeeded in recognizing the Greek, Jean Argyropoulos, commentator of Aristotle, who is the old man with a long beard, the papal treasurer, Giovanni Tornabuoni … he is the clean-shaven man to the right of Argyropoulos while the oldest of the three boys might be Lorenzo, the son of Giovanni Tornabuoni.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Davies, Gerald Stanley (1909). Ghirlandaio. Methuen and co. p. 53. OCLC 192133437. Next to him a greybearded man with a flat hat, seen only head and shoulders, is with tolerable certainty recognised as the Greek humanist, Johannes Argyropulos, the translator into Italian of Aristotle. He had been invited by Cosimo dei Medici
  5. ^ Masters, Roger D. (1999). Fortune Is a River: Leonardo Da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli's Magnificent Dream to Change the Course of Florentine History. Plume. p. 55. ISBN 0452280907. Cosimo was also a lover and exalter of literary men; he therefore brought Argyropoulos to Florence, a man of Greek birth and very learned for those times, so that Florentine youth might learn from him
  6. ^ Doby, Tibor (1963). Discoverers of blood circulation: from Aristotle to the times of da Vinci and Harvey. Abelard-Schuman. p. 252. OCLC 315911202. Argyropoulos, John (1415-1487), Greek humanist. Fled to Florence from the
  7. ^ "John Argyropoulos". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2009-10-02. John Argyropoulos Byzantine educator born 1395, Constantinople [now Istanbul, Turkey] died June 26, 1487, Rome, Papal States [Italy] Byzantine humanist and active promoter of the revival of Classical learning in the West.
  8. ^ Rabil, Albert (1991). Knowledge, goodness, and power: the debate over nobility among quattrocento Italian humanists. Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies. p. 197. ISBN 0866981004. John Argyropoulos (ca. 1395-87) played a prominent role in the revival of Greek philosophy in Italy. He came to Italy permanently in 1457 and held
  • Ganchou Th., 'Iôannes Argyropoulos, Géôrgios Trapézountios et le patron crétois Géôrgios Maurikas', Thesaurismata 36, 2008, pp. 99-206.
  • Mondrain B., 'Jean Argyropoulos professeur à Constantinople et ses auditeurs médecins, d'Andronic Eparque à Démétrios Angelos', Polypleuros nous. Miscellanea für Peter Schreiner zu seinem 60. Geburtstag, Leipzig 2000, pp. 223-250.
  • Monfasani G., 'The averroism of John Argyropoulos and his quaestio utrum intellectus humanus sit perpetuus', I Tatti studies 5, 1993, pp. 157-208.
  • Talbot A-M., 'Argyropoulos, John', Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 1, 1991, pp. 164-165.
  • Canivet P. Oikonomides N., 'La comédie de Katablattas. Invective byzantine du XVe siècle. Edition, traduction et commentaire', Diptucha 3, 1982-1983, pp. 5-97.
  • Bigi E., 'Argiropulo, Giovanni', Dizionario biografico degli Italiani 4, 1962, pp. 129-131.
  • Cammelli G., 'I dotti bizantini e le origine dell'Umanesimo, 3: Giovanni Argiropulo', Florence 1941.
  • Lampros S., 'Argyropouleia', Athens 1910.
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica, “John Argyropoulos” (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9002279)
  • Geanakoplos, Deno J., “Constantinople and the West : Essays on the Late Byzantine (Palaeologan) and Italian Renaissances and the Byzantine and Roman Churches”, University of Wisconsin Press, 1989, ISBN 0-299-11884-3
  • Harris, Jonathan, 'Byzantines in Renaissance Italy', in Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies (http://the-orb.net/encyclop/late/laterbyz/harris-ren.html)
  • Fotis Vassileiou & Barbara Saribalidou, Short Biographical Lexicon of Byzantine Academics Immigrants to Western Europe, 2007, ISBN 978-960-930-275-3
  • Vassileiou Fotis, Saribalidou Barbara, 'John Argyropoulos teacher of Leonardo Da Vinci', Philosophy Pathways Issue 117, 19 May 2006, International Society for Philosophers
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