Chapter 2 Women in Plotinus
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Abstract
This chapter aims to provide a balanced judgment of Plotinus’ views and attitudes towards women and the female. As this is not a topic that Plotinus himself addresses explicitly, the task requires an assessment of the various pieces of evidence that we have. This certainly includes Porphyry’s reports about Plotinus’ life and teaching in the VP, and especially details surrounding Gemina and her daughter, in whose house Plotinus lived and taught (VP 9). These reports are valuable, but they are also filtered through Porphyry’s own interests and values. Thus, the Enneads themselves must form the main focus of this chapter, and here there are three key areas of investigation. First, it is well-known that Plato expressed both very problematic and very progressive views on women, and it is imperative to review to what extent Plotinus takes over these views. Given the fundamental importance of Plato’s dialogues to Plotinus’ own thought, every silence and omission bears some significance. Second, Plotinus’ selective interpretation and reinterpretation of female roles in mythology deserves assessment. Finally, one finds a number of brief remarks on women, often made in passing, and these, too, shall be collected and evaluated.