 Ammonius’ ‘deal’ with the Bishop is attested only by Damascius, who despises Ammonius. Although he could have connected Ammonius’ agreement with his debts, Damascius chose instead to emphasize his greed, blackening his character with a trait (aischrokerdēs) which Plato had said (Republic 408c3–4) would be incompatible with the demigod Asclepius’ divinity, if shown in his medical practice; it must be equally bad for Ammonius in his profession. As Photius already reports, Damascius always mixed praise for some traits with blame for others in each person he reports on. He also plays characters one against the other (cf. O’Meara 2006). Damascius prepared his claim about Ammonius’ greed by his idealization of Hermeias, who even told merchants that their wares were priced too low (Damascius 54), and of Aedesia, whose continuation of her husband’s charitable giving put the family into debt, and of the couple’s saintly eldest son (Damascius 56). The respect and love which Ammonius’ parents earned from both philosophers and the masses form an implicit contrast to the conflict surrounding Ammonius and his greed. The rhetorical structure of Damascius’ narrative thus casts doubt on any ‘deal’ between Ammonius and the Bishop, which may have been the result of pure speculation on Damascius’ part, combined with his animus toward Ammonius (see Blank 2010, 657–660). Damascius actually admits (120B) making such an inference in the case of Horapollon, who he says deserted to ‘the others’, a conversion that “he apparently chose on his own, not compelled by any misfortune, perhaps too from the demands of an insatiable greed; for it is not easy to propose any other reason to excuse his conversion”. 