difficult passages and facets – of P’s Timaeus is attested. This commentary is quoted by
Porphurios and transcribed by T S and C. In his interpretation,
Adrastos sets out the details, and the astronomical and musical issues operative in the
Platonic text, but, characteristically, he brushes over the differences between A’s
planetary theory of homocentric spheres and the later theory of epicycles; indeed, he
claims that Plato already knew the theory of epicycles.
Moraux 2 (1984) 294–332; Gottschalk (1987) 1155–1156.
István Bodnár
Adrastos of Kuzikos (120 – 80 BCE)
Augustine, City of God 21.8.2, quotes V following Kasto ̄r of Rhodes saying that Adrastos
and D N computed the date of a portent of Venus.
RE S.1 (1903) 11–12 (#9), Fr. Hultsch.
PTK
A- ⇒ A-
Aeficianus (130 – 160 CE)
Stoicizing doctor who wrote commentaries on two books of the H C,
E, was a student of Q, and taught G at Corinth ca 151 – 152 CE:
Gale ̄n, Comm. in Hipp. Off. 1.3 (18B.654 K.), Comm. in Hipp. Epid. III 1.40 (CMG 5.10.2.1,
p. 59), On the Order of my own Books 3 (2.87 MMH).
Grmek and Gourevitch (1994) 1520–1521; Manetti and Roselli (1994) 1590–1591; DPA 1 (1989) 88,
R. Goulet; Ihm (2002) #5–7.
PTK
A ⇒ M
Aelianus “the Platonist” (165/170 – 230/235 CE)
Author of a commentary on P’s Timaeus, a fragment of which survives in P-
’ commentary on P’s Harmonics. Porphurios calls him Aelianus “the Platonist;”
he is probably to be identified with the rhetorician and natural scientist C A,
whose other lost works included an Indictment of the Effeminate, an On Providence and an
On Divine Manifestations. His three extant works, On the Nature of Animals, Varia Historia (or
“Miscellany”) and Rustic Letters, show a concern to elucidate the workings of the divine in
human and animal life.
Porphurios’ quotations from Aelianus’ commentary are limited to discussions of acous-
tics, harmonics, and musicological terminology; the tradition of comment on the Timaeus
was a common forum for such discussions, not all of which were restricted to explanations
of the harmonizing of the world soul (34b–36d). Porphurios’ passing references to Aelianus
show that in several other respects he adhered to the mathematical (rather than the Aristox-
enian) musicological tradition: he followed Ptolemy in admitting six concords, rather than
A’ eight, and he discussed and explained musicological terminology peculiar to
Pythagorean authors.
ADRASTOS OF KUZIKOS