Plato

Texts,  Topic for Discussion,  Word Study

Connections: Drugs, Roosters, and Asklepios

Jacques-Louis David, “The Death of Socrates”(1787), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons Many community members have been reading Gregory Nagy’s “The Last Words of Socrates in the Place Where He Died” on Classical Inquiries. In that post he explores the meaning of sacrificing a rooster to Asklepios. We are happy to share a curated selection of resources designed to help readers explore this topic in greater depth and make new connections. Primary Texts… Read more

Visiting Scholars

Open House | How and Why to Read Plato in the Early Common Era, with Ryan Fowler

We were pleased to welcome Ryan Fowler for our Open House Discussion, to talk about ‘How and Why to Read Plato in the Early Common Era’. To prepare for the discussion, participants might like to read the following. Ryan C. Fowler: Handout: ‘On the Arrangement of the Platonic Dialogues’ (PDF) There is a second handout, referred to during the discussion: Handout #2 (PDF). You may watch the video recording of… Read more

Topic for Discussion

In Focus: Plato Republic 9.571c–d

I am talking, I [= Socrates] said, about those [desires and pleasures] that are awakened when one part of the soul [psūkhē] sleeps—I mean the part that is rational [logistikon] and domesticated [hēmeron] and in control [arkhon] of the other part, which is beast-like [thēriōdes] and savage [agrion]. Then, [when the rational part is asleep,] this other part, which is glutted with grain [sīta] or intoxicants [methē], starts bolting [skirtāi]… Read more