from Phoenicia), Isidorus of Gaza, Damascius of Syria, Iamblichus of Coele-Syria and perhaps even Simplicius of Cilicia. In 529 the emperor Justinian ended the funding of the revived Neoplatonic Academy. However, other philosophical schools continued in Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria, which were the centres of Justinian's empire. The last scholarch of the Neoplatonic Academy was Damascius (d. 540). According to Agathias, its remaining members looked for protection under the rule of Sassanid king Khosrau I in his capital at Ctesiphon, carrying with them precious scrolls of literature and philosophy, and to a lesser degree of science. After a peace treaty between the Persian and the Byzantine Empire in 532, their personal security (an early document in the history of freedom of religion) was guaranteed. It has been speculated that the Neoplatonic Academy did not altogether disappear. After his exile, Simplicius (and perhaps some others) may have travelled to Carrhae near Edessa. From there, the students of an Academy-in-exile could have survived into the 9th century, long enough to facilitate an Arabic revival of the neoplatonist commentary tradition in Baghdad, beginning with the foundation of the House of Wisdom in 832. One of the major centers of learning in the intervening period (6th to 8th centuries) was the Academy of Gundishapur in Sassanid Persia. Modern times The site was rediscovered in the 20th century, in the modern Akadimia Platonos neighbourhood; considerable excavation has been accomplished and visiting the site is free. The site of the Academy is located near Colonus, approximately north of Athens' Dipylon gates. Visitors today can visit the archaeological site of the Academy located on either side of the Cratylus street in the area of Colonos and Plato's Academy (Postal Code GR 10442). On either side of the Cratylus street are important monuments, including the Sacred House Geometric Era, the Gymnasium (1st century BC – 1st century AD), the Proto-Helladic Vaulted House and the Peristyle Building (4th century BC), which is perhaps the only major building that belonged to the actual Academy of Plato. See also Academy of Athens (modern) Agora Cyrenaics Epicureanism Hellenistic philosophy Lyceum (classical) Peripatetic school Plato's Academy mosaic Platonic Academy (Florence) Platonism Stoicism Notes References Baltes, M. 1993. "Plato's School, the Academy." Hermathena, (155): 5–26. Brunt, P. A. 1993. "Plato's Academy and Politics." In Studies in Greek History and Thought. Oxford: Clarendon Press, Chapter 10, 282–342. Cherniss, H. 1945. The Riddle of the Early