THE RECEPTION OF DIOTIMA IN LATER PLATONISM: Clea, Sosipatra and Asclepigeneia

Diotima of Mantinea, who is presented as a philosopher, priestess, seer, mystagogue and the teacher of Socrates, appears only in Plato’s Symposium, in which she features indirectly in Socrates’ report of her teaching. Diotima’s identity is shrouded in mystery, with many recent scholars arguing that she is a fictitious character invented by Plato rather than a historical figure. However, whether Diotima was a fictitious character or a historical figure, her teaching (as set out in Socrates’ speech) and her role as a philosopher-priestess had an important legacy and influence on female philosophers within later Platonism. This chapter will examine the reception of Diotima in the life and activities of Clea of Delphi (the philosophical colleague of the Middle Platonist philosopher Plutarch of Chaeronea) and on the Neoplatonic female philosophers and theurgists Sosipatra of Pergamon and Asclepigeneia of Athens. This study aims to demonstrate that the portrayal of Diotima influenced modes of transmission of philosophical knowledge and ritual expertise within later Platonism in at least two senses: (1) inter-generational transmission from teacher to pupil and (2) longer-term modes of transmission relating to religious-philosophical role models.