fl. c. 500

Philosopher and theologian, probably a Syrian monk, known as Pseudo-(false) Dionysius the Areopagite, because he wrote under the name of the companion of St. Paul mentioned in the Bible (Acts 17:34). Dionysius wrote a series of Greek treatises and letters to unite Neoplatonic philosophy, which believes there is a single source from which all forms of existence come, and that the soul seeks a mystical union with this source—with Christian theology and mystical experience. His works such as The Divine Names and The Mystical Theology had a vast influence on medieval thought.