87371 - History of Ancient Science (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

Through the study of primary sources as well as of the main exegetical schools developed by modern interpreters, students will be provided with the intellectual tools necessary to: critically read and interpret scientific works, practices and theories from Antiquity; become aware of the historical and philological mechanisms that guided their transmission and promoted their influence over the centuries.

Course contents

Ancient Cosmologies between Philosophy, Hermeticism, and Alchemy

The course aims to explore ancient narratives about the origin of the universe, the nature of matter, and the ways in which human beings have sought to understand and manipulate it from antiquity to late antiquity. How were the soul and the cosmos born? What forces govern the structure of the universe and determine the combination and transformation of its constituent elements?

These questions will be addressed through a journey across natural philosophy, religion, and science, analyzing the cosmological conceptions of three key figures: Plato, Hermes Trismegistus, and Zosimos of Panopolis. The cosmological myth of the Timaeus, with its theories of the world soul, the chora, and the elements, will serve as the starting point. From there, we will delve into Hermetic cosmologies, such as the evocative vision of the Kore Kosmou, and finally arrive at the origins of alchemy in Greco-Roman Egypt through the philosophical and practical writings of Zosimos.

The course seeks to provide tools for understanding how, in different eras, humanity has imagined and deciphered the universe—a path that intertwines myth, reason, and technique, and that continues to echo in the fundamental questions of contemporary science and philosophy

Topics

The theory of the four elements and Plato’s Timaeus (approximately 10 hours)

The Corpus Hermeticum and its cosmological writings (approximately 10 hours)

Greco-Egyptian alchemy and Zosimos of Panopolis (approximately 10 hours)

Readings/Bibliography

1) A selection of primary sources in translation will be taken from the following editions/translations (all available on Virtuale)

• Platone, Timeo. Introduzione di Franco Ferrari. Testo, traduzione e commento a cura di Federico M. Petrucci, Milano: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, 2022.
• Paolo Scarpi (a cura di), La rivelazione segreta di Ermete Trismegisto, vol. I, Milano: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, 2009.
• Michela Pereira (a cura di), Alchimia. I testi della tradizione occidentale, Milano: Mondadori, 2006, pp. 42-69.

2) Franco Ferrari, "La chora nel Timeo di Platone. Riflessioni su «materia» e «spazio» nell'ontologia del mondo fenomenico", Quaestio 7 (2007): 3-23 (available on Virtuale).

3) Paolo Scarpi (a cura di), La rivelazione segreta di Ermete Trismegisto, vol. I, Milano: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, 2009, pp. XXXIV-XCII (available on Virtuale).

4) Matteo Martelli, L’alchimista antico. Dall’Egitto greco-romano a Bisanzio, Milano: Editrice Bibliografica, 2019, pp. 1-96 (available on Virtuale).

5) Two articles/chapters chosen from the following list (all available on Virtuale):

• B. Botter, “Il «ricettacolo» di materia e spazio in Timeo 48e-53b”, in C. Natali, S. Maso (a cura di), Plato Physicus. Cosmologia e antropologia nel Timeo, Amsterdam: Hakkert, 2003, pp. 165-187.
• L. Brisson, “How to Make a Soul in the Timaeus”, in Ch. Jorgenson, F. Karfík, Š. Špinka (eds.), Plato’s Timaeus. Proceeding of the Tenth Symposium Platonicum Pragense, Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2021, pp. 70-91.
• A.J. Festugière, “La creazione delle anime nella Korè Kosmou”, in Ermetismo e mistica pagana, trad. di L. Maggio, Genova: il Melangolo, 1991, pp. 205-216.
• W.J. Hanegraaff, “Children of Hermes”, in Hermetic Spirituality and the Historical Immagination. Altered States of Knowledge in Late Antiquity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Library 2022, pp. 77-118.
• F. Lopes da Silveira, "In the Melting Pot: Cultural Mixture and the Presentation of Alchemical Knowledge in the Letter from Isis to Horus", Ambix 69.1 (2022): 49-64.
• M. Martelli, “Alchemy, Medicine and Religion: Zosimus of Panopolis and the Egyptian Priests”, Religion in the Roman Empire 3.2 (2017): 202-220.
• Cristina Viano, “Corpi e metalli: le «Meteore» del Timeo”, in C. Natali, S. Maso (a cura di), Plato Physicus. Cosmologia e antropologia nel Timeo (Amsterdam: Hakkert, 2003), pp. 207-223.

Additional articles/chapters will be suggested during the lessons. Alternative readings can be arranged with the instructor.

Students not attending classes

Not-attending students should read four articles chosen from the list above (point 5 of the bibliography).

Teaching methods

Lecture on the course’s topics.

Reading and in-class commentary of relevant passages from primary sources.

Students will be encouraged to deliver short presentations on discreet topics (either individually or as part of a group).

Assessment methods

The exam consists in an oral interview during which the methodological and critical skills acquired by the student will be evaluated. The student will be invited to discuss texts covered during the course and to expand on their historical context. The achievement of a systematic knowledge of the topics addressed in class and of a critical approach to the sources together with the use of precise language will be assessed with grades of excellence (28-30). Mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the topics together with proper exposition will be assessed by good grades (23-27); gaps in the mastery of the topics of the course, superficial contextualization and knowledge of the texts will be assessed with sufficient grades (18-22). Lack of any of the above requirements will lead to a negative grade.

Exam sessions
During the 2025/2026 academic year, exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: October - December - January - March - June - July - September

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)
Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special adjustments according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the instructor but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adjustments. For more information, visit the page:

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

It is recommended that students contact the University office in advance. Any proposed adjustments must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for the instructor’s approval, who will evaluate their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

 

Teaching tools

Use of ppt slides, photocopies, multimedia material, and recordings of some classes.

Office hours

See the website of Matteo Martelli