Timaeus

About “Timaeus”

A Latin translation and commentary on Plato's Timaeus was produced by Calcidius. This work was the only extensive text of Plato known in the Latin West for 800 years. The Timaeus is a metaphysical dialogue in which Plato explores the nature of the universe and the creation of the physical world. Calcidius' version helped preserve and transmit Plato's ideas to medieval Latin scholars. The commentary provided explanations and interpretations that made the complex ideas of the Timaeus more accessible. This work played a key role in the transmission of Platonic philosophy through the early medieval period.