Dr Crystal Addey BA, MA, PhD

I am a Tutor in the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture. My responsibilities include the conception and delivery of the Cosmology, Magic and Divination module (AHAN7011) of the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, as well as contributing to other taught modules. In addition, I supervise MA dissertation students on topics relating to Graeco-Roman ritual, divination, magic, religion and philosophy in the ancient world.

I completed a BA (Hons) degree in Classical Studies at the University of Liverpool in 2000 and a Masters of Arts degree in Ancient Philosophy and Mythology (in the School of Classics) at the University of Wales, Lampeter in 2001. After this, I worked for several years before commencing my PhD in Classics (part-time) at the University of Bristol in 2003, which I obtained in 2009.  I was lecturer at Cardiff University (for the School of History, Archaeology and Religion; 2009-2011), Teaching Fellow in Classics at the University of Wales, Trinity St David (2011-2013), and Lecturer in Classics at the University of St Andrews (2014-17). I was the Classics Centre Co-ordinator for the East End Classics Centre and the Capital Classics Project (2013-14), a role which focused on Outreach work to encourage, promote and assist the teaching and learning of Classics and related subjects in UK state schools. I have also worked for the Centre for Lifelong Learning, Cardiff University, teaching on the Exploring the Past Programme in History and Archaeology from its inception.

I am currently a Research Fellow in the School of Classics at the University of St Andrews and I have been a Tutor for the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture since 2008.

• BA (Hons) Classical Studies, First class (Hons), University of Liverpool 1997-2000
• Masters of Arts (MA): Ancient Philosophy and Mythology, University of Wales, Lampeter
• PhD in Classics (part-time), University of Bristol Oracles of the gods: The Role of Divination and Theurgy in the Philosophy of Porphyry and Iamblichus   

Outreach Officer, Centre for Late Antique Studies, University of St Andrews (2015-2017)

Member of the Steering Committee, East End Classics Centre and BSix Sixth Form College Widening Participation Group since 2015.

Treasurer and Member of the Scottish Hellenic Society,St Andrews (2014-2017): as well as acting as Treasurer with responsibility for financial issues and the budget of the Society, I also co-organised the annual programme of events from 2014-17 (with Dr Nikoletta Manioti and Dr Kleanthis Mantzouranis).

Member of the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies (ISNS) since 2005.

Research Fellowships and Official Appointments (current and ongoing)

2017    Research Fellow, University of St Andrews

2015    elected as Research Fellow, Foro di Studi Avanzati Gaetano Massa, Rome, Italy (Gaetano Massa Research Institute for the Advanced Study of the Humanities)

2014    elected as Member of the Board of Directors, International        Society for Neoplatonic Studies (ISNS)

2009    Associate Member of the Centre for Late Antique Religion and Culture, Cardiff University

Interdisciplinary in nature, my academic interests in ancient divination, ritual, religion and philosophy intersect and connect widely with classics, history, philosophy, anthropology, postcolonial studies and the history of religions.

I have taught and co-taught a wide range of modules in Classics, Ancient History and Religious Studies at several universities (University of St Andrews, Cardiff University and University of Wales TSD).

For the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, I have designed and taught the MA-level module Cosmology, Magic and Divination since 2008.  I have also co-taught on the introductory module Introduction to Cultural Astronomy and Astrology.  I have also supervised several mature MA dissertation students to their successful completion at the University of Wales TSD.

I am currently supervising a PhD student at the University of St Andrews who is working on the reception of Neoplatonic ritual texts in the poetry of Jorge Luis Borges, Robert Graves and Suzanne Lilar.

Interdisciplinary in nature, my research interests include ancient Greek philosophy, literature, religion and culture, including gender studies (especially gender and ancient philosophy); Greek oracles, oracle-collections and religion in Classical Greece, the Roman Imperial period and late antiquity, within the context of Greek literature and the history of Mediterranean religions; Plato, Neoplatonism and the reception of Homer, Plato and Socrates in late antiquity; ancient literary theory and book culture, and the history of religions. 

I am particularly interested in the connections and intersections between religion and philosophy in ancient Greek and Roman cultures and much of my research has focused on the relationship between oracles, divination and ancient philosophy in Late Antiquity. 

My recent monograph examined the central roles of oracles and other forms of divination in Neoplatonism in Late Antiquity (Divination and Theurgy in Neoplatonism: Oracles of the gods, Farnham: Ashgate, 2014).  Much of my recent work has focused on female philosophers in antiquity and the relationship between gender and ancient philosophy.  My current projects include work on the roles of oracles and oracle-collections in the ancient Mediterranean, work on female philosophers and theurgists in the Platonic tradition, especially Neoplatonism, and work on Neoplatonic ethics.

I am currently supervising a PhD student at the University of St Andrews and MA students at the University of Wales TSD.

I have undertaken peer-reviewing for academic publishers including Wiley-Blackwell (USA), the Pennsylvania State University Press (USA), Ashgate (UK)  and for the journals Ancient Philosophy (www.ancientphilosophy.com) and the International Journal of the Platonic Tradition (Leiden-Boston: Brill).

I have undertaken a range of schools, outreach and public engagement work including being appointed as the Schools Officer for the School of Classics (2015-17) and the Outreach Officer for the Centre for Late Antique Studies (2015-17) at the University of St Andrews.  I am also a member of the Steering Committee for the East End Classics Centre and BSix Sixth Form College Widening Participation and Access Group.

In 2013-14, I was appointed as the Classics Centre Co-ordinator for the East End Classics Centre (based at BSix Sixth Form College) and for the Capital Classics Project in London.  During this time, I acted as an advisor for the OCR Examination board consultation.

I was also Treasurer and Co-organiser of the annual programme of events (talks, lectures, film-showings and other events) for the Scottish Hellenic Society, St Andrews from 2014-2017.

I have co-organised a range of conferences, workshops, seminar series and other events.

I have undertaken a range of schools, outreach and public engagement work. This has included working with  a wide range of universities, colleges, schools, charities, art galleries and museums (as well as with other arts and cultural organisations) to encourage and promote the study of Classics, ancient history, archaeology and related subjects. 

I was the Classics Centre Co-ordinator for the East End Classics Centre and the Capital Classics Project (2013-14), a role which focused on Outreach work to encourage, promote and assist the teaching and learning of Classics and related subjects in UK state schools. 

This included organising and hosting events for sixth form and secondary school pupils, as well as arranging, organising and hosting Teacher training and CPD events in Classics, Ancient History and related subjects for teachers (in collaboration with a range of universities, schools, colleges, charities and cultural organisations).  During this time, I acted as an advisor for the OCR Examination board consultation.

I have undertaken peer-reviewing for academic publishers including Wiley-Blackwell (USA), the Pennsylvania State University Press (USA), Ashgate (UK)  and for the journals Ancient Philosophy (www.ancientphilosophy.com) and the International Journal of the Platonic Tradition (Leiden-Boston: Brill).

Monograph and Edited Volume

(in preparation; under contract: forthcoming 2018) Divination and Systems of Knowledge in Greco-Roman Antiquity, edited by Crystal Addey and Victoria Leonard, New York-London: Routledge.

(in preparation; under contract: forthcoming 2018) “Divination and the Kairos in the Theurgic Ritual Practices of Late Antiquity,” in Divination and Systems of Knowledge in Greco-Roman Antiquity, edited by Crystal Addey and Victoria Leonard. New York-London: Routledge.

(2014) Divination and Theurgy in Neoplatonism: Oracles of the gods, Ashgate Studies in Philosophy and Theology in Late Antiquity. Farnham: Ashgate, 2014.  Publication date: 17 October 2014.  352pp. ISBN: 978-1-4096-5152-5. Read online.

Book Chapters and Journal Articles

(in press) Addey, Crystal; Fichera, Regina. “Sosipatra.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Classics. Ed. Dee Clayman. New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2017.

(in press) “Sosipatra: Prophetess, Philosopher and Theurgist: Reflections on Divination and Epistemology in Late Antiquity,” in Prophets and Profits: Problems in Ancient Divination and its Reception, edited by Richard Evans. London-New York: Routledge, forthcoming 2017.

(in press) “Plato’s Women Readers,” in The Brill Companion to the Reception of Plato in Antiquity, edited by Harold Tarrant, Danielle Layne, Dirk Baltzly and Francois Renaud. Leiden-Boston: Brill, forthcoming 2018.

(2017) “Dreams, Medicine and Healing in Late Antiquity: Oneiromancy (Dream Divination) in Porphyry’s Philosophy from Oracles,” in Cura e encantamento: rito, mito e psicologia, edited by Edrisi Fernandes and Carlos Luciano Silva Cortinha. Brazil: Tanto Mar Editores.

(2014) “The daimonion of Socrates: Daimones and Divination in Neoplatonism,” in The Neoplatonic Socrates: Essays in Late Antiquity and the Reception of Socrates, edited by Harold Tarrant and Danielle Layne. University Park, PA: the Pennsylvania State University Press, 51-72.

(2013) “Ecstasy between Divine and Human: Re-assessing Agency in Iamblichean Divination and Theurgy,” in Literary, Philosophical and Religious Studies in the Platonic Tradition: Proceedings of the Seventh Annual International Society for Neoplatonic Studies Conference, edited by John F. Finamore and John Philips. Bonn: Academia Verlag, 7-24.

(2013) “In the Light of the Sphere: The Vehicle of the Soul and Subtle Body Practices in Neoplatonism,” in Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West: Between Mind and Body, edited by Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnston. London: Routledge, 149-167.

(2012) “Oracles of Orpheus?  The Orphic Gold Tablets,” International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 6: 115-127.

(2012) “The Role of Divine Providence, Will and Love in Iamblichus’ Theory of Theurgic Prayer and Religious Invocation,” in Iamblichus and the Foundations of Platonism, edited by Eugene Afonasin, John Dillon and John Finamore. Leiden: Brill, 2012, 148-167.

(2011) “Assuming the Mantle of the Gods: ‘Unknowable’ Names and Invocations in Late Antique Theurgic Ritual,” in (eds.), Sacred Words: Orality, Literacy and Religion, edited by A.P.M.H. Lardinois, J.H. Blok and M.G.M. van der Poel. Orality and Literacy in the Ancient World Volume 8. Leiden: Brill, 2011, 279-294.

(2010) “Monotheism, Henotheism and Polytheism in Porphyry’s Philosophy from Oracles,” in Monotheism in Late Antiquity Between Christians and Pagans, edited by Stephen Mitchell and Peter Van Nuffelen. Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Culture and Religion. Peeters: Leuven, 149-165.

(2010) “Divine Possession and Divination in the Graeco-Roman World: The Evidence from Iamblichus’ On the Mysteries,” in Spirit Possession and Trance: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives, edited by Bettina E. Schmidt and Lucy Huskinson. London: Continuum, 171-185.

(2007) “Consulting the Oracle: The Mantic Art and its causation in Iamblichus’ De Mysteriis,” in Metaphysical Patterns in Platonism: Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Modern Times, edited by John F. Finamore and Robert Berchman. New Orleans: University Press of the South, 73-87.

(2007) “Oracles, Religious Practices and Philosophy in Late Neoplatonism,” Practical Philosophy 8.2 (2007), 31-35.

(2007) “Oracles, Dreams and Astrology in Iamblichus’ De Mysteriis,” in Seeing with Different Eyes: Essays on Astrology and Divination, edited by Angela Voss and Patrick Curry. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press, 35-57.

(2007) “Mirrors and Divination: Catoptromancy, Oracles and Earth Goddesses in Antiquity”, in The Book of the Mirror: An Interdisciplinary Collection exploring the Cultural Story of the Mirror, edited by Miranda Anderson. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press, 32-46.

Book Reviews and Glossaries

(2015) Book review: Mystic cults in Magna Graecia, edited by Giovanni Casadio and Patricia A. Johnston (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009) in International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 9.1 (2015), 114-117.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18725473-12341307
Open access version: Addey_2015_IJPT_Mystic_CC.pdf

(2013) Book review: The Ancient Oracles: Making the Gods Speak, by Richard Stoneman (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2011) in Classical Review 63.1 (2013), 158-160.

(2011) Book review: Iamblichus’ Letters, edited with a translation and commentary by John M. Dillon and Wolfgang Polleichtner (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2010) in International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 5.2 (2011), 321-323.

(2011) Book review: One God: Pagan monotheism in the Roman Empire, edited by Stephen Mitchell and Peter Van Nuffelen (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010) in Journal of Roman Studies 101 (2011), 259-261.

(2009) Glossary, in Stephen R.L. Clark and Panayiota Vassilopoulou (eds.), Late Antique Epistemology: Other Ways to Truth, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

(2008) Book review: Platonisms: Ancient, Modern and Postmodern, edited by Kevin Corrigan and John D. Turner (Leiden: Brill, 2007), in International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 2.1 (2008), 88-92.

(2008) “Speaking with the gods: Oracles and Philosophy in the Ancient World,” Iris 6 (2008), 22-24.

Conference and Seminar Organisation

Centre for Late Antique Studies Work-in-Progress Seminar Series 2016-17, University of St Andrews

Lead co-organiser (with Caroline Belanger)

Scottish Hellenic Society of St Andrews Annual Programme of Events 2014-17, University of St Andrews

Co-organiser (with Dr Nikoletta Manioti and Dr Kleanthis Mantzouranis);

Ritual Dynamics in Late Antiquity International Colloquium (3 June 2015), University of St Andrews

Lead co-organiser (with Eleonora Zeper)

International Society for Neoplatonic Studies Conference 2013, Cardiff University

Co-organiser (with Professor Josef Lössl and Dr. Nicholas Baker-Brian)

The Power of Sacrifice: Contexts and Representations Interdisciplinary Workshop (18-19 January 2012), Cardiff University

Co-organiser (with Dr. Louise Child and Dr Simon Brodbeck)

Keynote Plenary Lectures

3ªs Jornadas Luso-Brasileira de Filosofia Antiga (3^rd Luso-Brazilian Congress on Ancient Philosophy),

University of Minho, Braga, Portugal (18-21 January 2017)

Plenary Keynote Lecture: Dreams, Medicine and Healing in Late Antiquity: Oneiromancy (Dream Divination) in Porphyry’s Philosophy from Oracles.

Invited Papers presented at Conferences and Seminars 2016-2017

2017   

Interdisciplinary workshop: Religious Practices in Late Antiquity, Tübingen University, Germany (27-28 October 2017)

Paper title: Oracle-collections and Religion in Late Antiquity: Porphyry’s Philosophy from Oracles and Letter to Anebo.

Gaetano Massa Forum for Advanced Studies Third Annual Conference, Rome, Italy: Renaissance, Ancient and Medieval Patterns: Philosophy, Theology, Aesthetics and Religion (27-30 May 2017)

Chair: Metaphysics panel

Host of Roundtable Discussion: Ancient Religions, Theurgy and Cult

Institute of Classical Studies Ancient Philosophy Research Seminar (30 March 2017)

Paper Title: Divine Power, Immanence and Transcendence in the Philosophy of Plotinus, Porphyry and Iamblichus.

2016

Conference: Fortune et Réception des Textes Oraculaires dans l'Antiquité tardive et le monde medieval, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium (5-6 September 2016)

Paper Title: Oracles of Fire: The Formation and Oracular Context of the Chaldean Oracles

Workshop: God and the gods in Late Antiquity  – What Next? University of St Andrews (11 July 2016)

Paper Title: Sosipatra – Philosopher, Prophetess, Theurgist: Divination and Epistemology in Late Antiquity

Gaetano Massa Forum for Advanced Studies Second Annual Conference, Rome, Italy: Renaissance, Ancient and Medieval Patterns: Philosophy, Theology, Theurgy (23-25 May 2016)

Host of Roundtable Discussion: Religious Themes in the Platonic Tradition from Antiquity to the Renaissance

Panel Chair: Medieval Patterns

Engendering Time in the Ancient Mediterranean Conference, Bates College, Maine, USA (29 April – 1 May 2016)

Paper Title: Sosipatra, Destiny and Death

Research Seminar, Department of History, Politics and Philosophy, Manchester Metropolitan University (18 February 2016)

Paper Title: Plato’s Women Readers