Poets, Sophists and Philosophers Ainittomenoi in Plato's Theaetetus

• Autores: Maria Pavlou
• Localización: Classical journal, ISSN 0009-8353, Vol. 114, Nº 2, 2018-2019, págs. 129-161
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Platonic dialogues are full of poetic references. As well as revealing a vivid interest in, and acquaintance with, previous poetic works, Plato's citations of the poets are also reflective of a widespread—but in Plato's view reprehensible—4th century Athenian practice of treating poetry as a compendium of absolute and undeniable truths and of appropriating it only for self-serving purposes, instead of using it as a springboard for philosophical discussion. In this paper I restrict my attention to the Theaetetus with a view to scrutinizing the intricate and sophisticated ways in which Plato tackles not so much the cited poetic quotations and paraphrases per se, as their reception and handling by his contemporaries. More specifically, I examine three explicit Homeric citations (152e, 153c-d, and 194c). Although in all three cases Socrates embarks upon an allegorical interpretation of Homer, the authority that he allegedly lays upon his proposed readings eventually proves to be merely a masquerade. I suggest that as well as parodying the allegorical method of interpretation, Socrates' treatment of the Homeric citations is also philosophically significant.