Damascius (c. 462 — after 538 CE), the last head of the Platonic Academy, is often consideredto be solely an abstruse metaphysician. This contribution corrects this distortedpicture by turning to the fragments of his Life of Isidore, a work which has hitherto rarelybeen studied in its own right, viz. as a philosophical text. In the Life of Isidore we find anaccessible and largely ethical philosophy. More specifically, I focus on political virtueand the role of the philosopher in society. The discussion of the textual material, mainlyinvolving the value of good deeds and frank criticism, leads us to consider significant andsurprising parallels with the Callicles episode of Plato’s Gorgias.
