ARGYROPOULOS, JOHANNES

(1415-1487)

Byzantine scholar who became a respected teacher ofGreeklanguage, literature, and philosophy in Italy. He settled atFlorence, where he taught at theuniversityand helped a number of prominent Italianhumanists, includingCristoforo LandinoandAngelo Poliziano, perfect their Greek and study the Greek text of ancient philosophers. Although sometimes regarded as a precursor of the fashion forPlatothat culminated in theNeoplatonismofMarsilio Ficino, his own teaching was based onAristotle, whom he wanted to make available in improved Latin texts based on the original Greek.