Dimitrios A. Vasilakis was born in Athens (1986). He did his undergraduate degree in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Philosophical School: 2004-2008) and received his MA (2009-2010) and PhD (2010-2014) from King’s College London (KCL, under the primary supervision of Prof. Dr. Peter Adamson). For his studies, he received scholarships and grants from the University of Athens (Andreadis Prize), State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), Lilian Voudouri Foundation, Academy of Athens and the A.G. Leventis Foundation. The topic of his doctoral dissertation was Neoplatonic Love (Neoplatonic Love: the Metaphysics of Eros in Plotinus, Proclus and the pseudo-Dionysius) and was published in a revised form by Bloomsbury Academic in 2021. He has taught ancient Greek philosophy at KCL (as Graduate Tutor) and LMU (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany). He has completed a post-doc in LMU (DFG-Project “Natur in politischen Ordnungsentwürfen”, 2016-‘17). In April 2020 he was awarded an Initialization Scholarship by the University of Erfurt (Germany, Lehrstuhl für Kulturgeschichte des Orthodoxen Christentums), and consequently became Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter for a DFG Project on the reception of Dionysius the Areopagite. In the academic years 2020-’21 and 2021-’22 he taught ancient philosophy in the Philosophy Department of the University of Athens (as adjunct lecturer/teaching fellow). He has also studied music (piano diploma, advanced theory, chorister and active participant in conducting seminars). His research interests relate to ancient Greek philosophy, esp. Neoplatonism and its reception in the East, as well as the West.
Field
Philosophy of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages
O.G.G. of Appointment
Contact
Philosοphy Department School of Philosοphy University Campus PO Box 1186 PC 45500, Ioannina, Greece
Curriculum vitae
Websites
Social
Studies
2004-2008: Degree from the School of Philosophy (Dept. of Philosophy-Pedagogy-Psychology; major in Philosophy) at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Grade: Excellent.
2009-2010: Master of Arts (MA) in History of Philosophy in the Philosophy Dept. at King’s College London (KCL). Dissertation topic: “Aspects of Nature and of its relation to Craft in Plotinus with specific reference to the Aristotelian background”. Primary Supervisor: Prof. Peter Adamson. Grade: Pass with Merit.
2011-2014 PhD in Philosophy at KCL; Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Peter Adamson. Doctoral Dissertation: Neoplatonic Love: The Metaphysics of Eros in Plotinus, Proclus and the Pseudo-Dionysius (Accepted without corrections).
Research interests
- Ancient Greek Philosophy
- Neoplatonism
- Christian Neoplatonism in Byzantium and the West
Publications
- Vasilakis, Dimitrios A. 2021a: Eros in Neoplatonism and its Reception in Christian Philosophy: Exploring Love in Plotinus, Proclus and Dionysius the Areopagite, Bloomsbury Academic, London, NY, Oxford, New Delhi, Sydney.
- -, 2021b: “Love as Descent: Comparing the Models of Proclus and Dionysius through Eriugena”, Religions. Special Issue: Conversion Debates in Hellenistic Philosophy and Early Christianity, ed. by E. Anagnostou, G. Steiris, G. Arabatzis, 12:9 (2021): no.726 (pp.1-13: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12090726).
- -, 2019a: “Neoplatonic Providence and Descent: a Test-Case from Proclus’ Alcibiades Commentary”, The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition, 13:2 (2019), 153‑171.
- -, 2019b: “On the Meaning of Hierarchy in Dionysius the Areopagite”, στο P.G. Pavlos, L.F. Janby, E.K. Emilsson and T.T. Tollefsen (επιμ.), Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity, Routledge, Λονδίνο και Νέα Υόρκη, σσ.181‑200.
- , 2017a: “Dionysius versus Proclus on Undefiled Providence and its Byzantine Echoes in Nicholas of Methone”, Studia Patristica, vol.XCVI/22 (2017), 407 418.
- ‑, 2017b: “Platonic Eros, Moral Egoism, and Proclus”, στο D.D. Butorac and D.A. Layne (επιμ.), Proclus and his Legacy, De Gruyter (‘Millennium Studies’ series, vol.65), Berlin-Boston, σσ.45‑52.
- ‑, 2016: “Maximus as a Philosophical Interpreter of Dionysius: the Case of Christ as Manic Lover”, Θεολογία, 87:2 (Απρίλιος-Ιούνιος 2016), 103‑112.
- -, 2023: “The Hermeneutics of Dionysius the Areopagite’s Platonic Writing Style”, in E. Anagnostou-Laoutides and Ken Parry (eds), Later Platonists and Their Heirs among Christians, Jews, and Muslims, Brill, Leiden-Boston, pp.111-130.
Undergraduate courses
Graduate courses
Office hours
Tuesday 16.00-18.00
After appointment