Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Chapter One Plato's Cratylus and Aristotle's De Interpretatione: Setting the Scene -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Cratylus: an outline -- 3. Towards a dialectical interpretation of the Cratylus -- 4. Aristotle on names: De Interpretatione -- 5. Aristotle on language and philosophy -- 6. Conclusive remark: Plato, Aristotle and the issue of the correctness of names -- Chapter Two The Middle Platonists: Constructing Platonic Doctrines -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Background: Stoic and Epicurean theories of language -- 3. A handbook on the Cratylus: Alcinous Didaskalikos c. 6, 159, 43-160, 41 -- 4. Tracing back the logical-etymological interpretation: Antiochus of Ascalon -- 5. Plutarch of Chaeroneia: the Cratylus as a theological dialogue -- 6. Philo of Alexandria -- 7. Galen: a dissident voice -- 8. Conclusions -- Chapter Three Porphyry's Aristotelian Semantic Theory and Proclus' Platonic Criticism of it -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Plotinus: naming Being -- 3. Porphyry -- 4. Iamblichus -- 5. Proclus -- 6. Conclusions -- Chapter Four Proclus' Commentary on the Cratylus (I): The Issue of the Correctness of Names -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Proclus' notes on the Cratylus -- 3. The σκοπος (In Crat. I): the correctness of names and the human soul -- 4. Two characters: two classes of things, two types of names (In Crat. X-XIV) -- 5. A historical excursus (In Crat. XVI-XVII) -- 6. Epicurus and the two meanings of φυσει (In Crat. XVII) -- 7. Socrates' discussion with Hermogenes: the natural correctness of names -- 8. Names of mortal individuals (In Crat. LXXX-XCV) -- 9. Proclus on the correctness of names: some conclusions -- Chapter Five Proclus' Commentary on the Cratylus (II): Naming, Dialectic, and the Divine Intellect -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The dialectical character of the Cratylus (In Crat. II-IX).

3. The human legislator/name-giver and the divine Demiurge -- 4. Instruments: form and matter (In Crat. LIII-VIII) -- 5. The dialectician: the user of names (In Crat. LIX-LXVII) -- 6. Conclusions -- Chapter Six Proclus' Commentary on the Cratylus (III): Learning from Divine Names -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The nature of divine names (In Crat. LXXI) -- 3. Divine language: a paradox? (In Crat. LXXII-LXXIX) -- 4. Proclus' commentary on the etymological section -- 5. The theological function of etymology -- 6. The pedagogical function of etymology: names as playthings -- 7. Play and salvation through names -- 8. Proclus on the hermeneutics of divine names: concluding remarks -- 9. Taking stock: Proclus' interpretation of the Cratylus in five points -- Chapter Seven After Proclus -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Return to the harmony thesis -- 3. Theology from divine names -- Bibliography -- 1. Editions cited of the principal texts -- 2. Secondary literature -- Indices -- 1. Index of passages cited -- 2. Index of subjects and names.