The Influence of Plotinus on Basil of Caesarea’s Homiliae in hexaemeron

Abstract

Abstract This article argues for Plotinian influence on Basil’s Homiliae in hexaemeron. It is composed of two major sections. The first section discusses three major flaws in John Rist’s “Basil’s ‘Neoplatonism’: Its Background and Nature,” namely: 1) the problems with Rist’s focus on the peculiar features of Plotinus, 2) Rist’s overestimation of the effect of Nicaea on the reception of Platonic ideas by Christians, 3) the lack of evidence regarding both Basil’s time in Athens and the assumption that post-Plotinian Platonism is too pagan to be of interest to Basil. The second section examines three passages from Basil’s Homiliae in hexaemeron, namely, 1,7, 2,2, and 2,7. The first passage exhibits clear indirect, though not direct, or exclusively Plotinian influence. The second example reveals a shared idea that most likely derives from Plotinus due to other contextual aspects. The final passage shows a close relation between Basil and Plotinus, in which the differences are better explained by the different goals of the authors rather than by the lack of contact and dependence on common material.