The Pagan Gods in Marsilio Ficinoʼs Christian Platonism

Abstract

The basic aim of Marsilio Ficino is to unify Christianity with Platonic philosophy, while referring to the “ancient wisdom” present in both. However, for him, Platonic philosophy comes hand in hand with ancient gods. To make use of them, Ficino claims to write not as a theologian but as “poet”. Most typically, the ancient gods are allegories of astral influences on human affairs. But according to Platonists, stars are ensouled beings, gods expressing their effective powers – not just natural forces. Here, Apollo/Phoebus, the solar god and allegory of the Sun, is of special importance: for Ficino, solar and light metaphysics is generally crucial. In his De vita, he demonstrates how the stars, i.e. the ancient gods in their mythological context, help cure human bodies, including the subtle-material body, i.e. the animating “spirits”. This “magical” cure is made possible through hidden and ubiquitous sympathies between all the stars, metals, stones, animals, flowers, and sensual qualities in general, which are all interlinked with certain gods. Although Fi- cino emphasises that this system of natural magic is lim- ited to “nature”, it seems that, in fact, his “imitating of the stars”, and thus of the ancient gods embodying them, can ultimately have a higher, theological relevance.