Keynote Lecture: The Theology of a Pagan Philosopher

Prof. Dr. Rainer Hirsch-Luipold (University of Bern)

Monday 12 July at 17.00h our visiting professor Rainer Hirsch-Luipold will present his current research on the fascinating pagan-religious thinker Plutarch of Chaeronea, who inspired creative minds such as Shakespeare, Montaigne, Schiller and even Beethoven. Please join us live (RSVP: secretary@knir.it) or on Zoom.

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With his enticing literary style and his encyclopedic interests, Plutarch of Chaeronea, the Greek intellectual and priest of Apollo in Delphi (ca. 45-120 AD), inspired creative minds such as Shakespeare, Montaigne, Schiller, and Beethoven. Plutarch’s miscellaneous philosophical works (Moralia) and his
biographies of famous Greeks and Romans (Vitae) served as a main source not only for history and philosophy, but also for Egyptology, archaeology and musicology, not to mention the history of religion.

In his lecture, Prof. Hirsch-Luipold will give an introduction to and overview of the religio-philosophical system of this fascinating pagan-religious thinker who wrote at the time when the New Testament was being composed. Prof. Hirsch-Luipold will present an outline of a monograph entitled “The Theology of a Platonist Philosopher: Religion and God in Plutarch”, which is his main focus during his research stay at the KNIR. The book will be published next year with Cambridge University Press.

Discussion
Short responses by specialists from the fields of theology, philosophy, the history of religion, and philology will lead into the discussion.
Participants: Prof. Dr. Samuel Vollenweider/Zurich; PD Dr. Fritz Heinrich/Göttingen; Dr. Fabio Tanga/Salerno

Refreshments will follow.

Please note that there are limited spaces available and that registration is required.
RSVP: secretary@knir.it if you would like to join the event at our institute.

Use the Zoom link on the right side of this page to register for an online participation.