To browse Academia. This article discusses the notion of eros in the Neoplatonic philosophy of Ioane Petritsi and his influence on the thought of the epic poet Shota Rustaveli, who holds a similar vision. Comparisons and influences are sought in the thought of the church fathers, but most importantly, in the thought of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. Since eros in Petritsi and Rustaveli is a universal power that permeates all and, thus, by implication, is not restricted to any single culture or religion, those thinkers ran a risk of falling under a censure of the official church, which would deny any salvific or even anagogic activity happening outside her bosom.
It will be argued that this explains the hostility of the church officials towards bo The original Georgian literature started with hagiography, both martyrdoms and lives of saints. In this early hagiographic literature the phenomenon of eros is depicted in a peculiar way. On the one hand, there is an intimation of a highest, mystical form of it, conveyed in the idea of 'marriage' with Jesus Christ as the eternal bridegroom of the human soul.
For example, in the Martyrdom of Shushanik, the first original hagiographical monument of the 5 th century, the queen Shushanik makes a symbolic exchange of a bridal jeweled necklaces presented by her earthly husband, Varsken, with prison chains of her benevolent martyrdom for Christ, the chains now featuring as her true adornment for the imminent heavenly wedding with Christ.
Similarly, there is an intimation of heavenly eros in the martyrdom of St Abo the Perfumer of Bagdad. Just before his martyrdom, St Abo anoints himself with oil saying, from now on I will not anoint myself by the earthly oil with its perishable fragrance, but only the heavenly oil of commandments of Christ, whose imperishable fragrance I follow in the manner of a bride of Solomon's Song of Songs. Life of monks in the grand hagiographic work of Giorgi Merchule, Life of St Gregory of Khandzta, 3 is described as a preparation of the assembly of purified souls towards their mystical wedding in eternity, but if there occurs at all any discussion about earthly eros, then it is only in the negative sense as a certain demonic infatuation.
For example, eros features as a demonic power that infringes upon nuptial fidelity. Thus, king Ashot Kuropalates had an 'overflowing love' towards a certain woman, for whom he abandoned his legal wife, 4 or a sister of future great ascetic Zeno, was 'inflamed by demon of eros', because of which she visited every night her beloved. Ioane Petritsi, a philosopher based in the Gelati Monastic school on his return from Constantinople, introduced his students to Neo-Platonic lore.
