This pioneering volume provides the first comparative overview of the interface between Neoplatonism and poetry in the greater Mediterranean, from Late Antiquity to the present day. The introductory chapter presents the thought of Plotinus (d. 270), the founder of Neoplatonism, as rooted in both Greek and Oriental sources and explains his key principles, with focus on those of particular relevance for literature and the arts. The chapter proceeds to introduce the authors and poetic traditions covered in the volume by situating them in the intercultural transmission history of Neoplatonic conce ... More

This pioneering volume provides the first comparative overview of the interface between Neoplatonism and poetry in the greater Mediterranean, from Late Antiquity to the present day. The introductory chapter presents the thought of Plotinus (d. 270), the founder of Neoplatonism, as rooted in both Greek and Oriental sources and explains his key principles, with focus on those of particular relevance for literature and the arts. The chapter proceeds to introduce the authors and poetic traditions covered in the volume by situating them in the intercultural transmission history of Neoplatonic concepts and ideas. The first three sections of the book are devoted to premodern poetry of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Zoroastrian provenance. They show that Neoplatonic notions of the ascent of the soul, the nature of love and beauty, divine immanence and transcendence, and the interplay between the many and the One, have left comparable marks in the works of poets writing in Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Persian, Spanish and Turkish. Among the authors discussed are some of the most celebrated exponents of their respective traditions, including Dante, Ibn ‘Arabi and Ibn Gabirol. The final section shows how major modern poets throughout the region have continued to engage with the Neoplatonic heritage assimilated by their forebears. Taken together, the papers demonstrate that Neoplatonism is a cross-cultural phenomenon of outstanding importance which has given rise to a distinct ‘Neoplatonic poetics’ and remains relevant by pointing the way to an inclusive sense of identity commensurate with a pluralist world.