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Gregoras, Nikephoros

Born : 1291 or 1295, Herakleia Pontike

Died : November 14, 1357 or 1359, Constantinople

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Abstract

Nikephoros Gregoras was a Byzantine historian and philosopher. A native of Herakleia Pontike on the Black Sea, he moved to Constantinople at a very young age and received there his literary and philosophical education. He was a close friend of and later an intellectual heir to Theodoros Metochites (1270–1332). From the outbreak of the Hesychast controversy (around 1341) in Byzantium until his death, he was a staunch anti-Palamite. After becoming monk in 1351, he advanced to the position of a spiritual leader of the anti-Palamite movement. His most important work is his Romaike Historia (Roman History). He never wrote a treatise dedicated exclusively to philosophical subjects, but a number of his works contain extensive treatment of philosophical questions. In the dialogue Phlorentios or on Wisdom, he criticizes the syllogistic techne and discusses a number of issues pertaining to Aristotle’s natural philosophy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Byzantine Studies, Byzantine Art History and Modern Greek Philology, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Sergei Mariev

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  1. Sergei Mariev
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Correspondence to Sergei Mariev .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Venezia, Italy

    Marco Sgarbi

Section Editor information

  1. Finnish Center of Political Thought & Conceptual Change, JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO, Finland

    Vasileios Syros

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Mariev, S. (2019). Gregoras, Nikephoros. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_49-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_49-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

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