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Allegorical interpretations of Plato
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Many interpreters of Plato held that his writings contain passages with double meanings, called allegories, symbols, or myths, that give the dialogues layers of figurative meaning in addition to their
Herm of Plato. The Greek inscription reads: "Plato [son] of Ariston, Athenian" (Rome, Capitoline Museums, 288).
Herm of Plato. The Greek inscription reads: "Plato [son] of Ariston, Athenian" (Rome, Capitoline Museums, 288).
Greek allegory arguably began with personifications in Greek mythology (Eros is love, Athena is wisdom). Greek philosophical allegory may have begun w
Greek allegory arguably began with personifications in Greek mythology (Eros is love, Athena is wisdom). Greek philosophical allegory may have begun with Parmenides or Empedocles but is clear in Socrates' friend, Prodicus the Sophist, and his famous tale of "Hercules at the Crossroads". Discussed by Xenophon, the Neo-Platonists, and many others, it became well-known again in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. On the left, Virtue is calling Hercules to the higher path of glory through hardship, while Vice is enticing him toward the easy life of pleasure (Annibale Carracci,
Papirus Oxyrhynchus, with fragment of Plato's Republic
Papirus Oxyrhynchus, with fragment of Plato's Republic
The earliest depiction of a Roman book cabinet or armarium, with scrolls inside on the upper shelf. From a sarcophagus dated to 200–300 CE, i.e., abou
The earliest depiction of a Roman book cabinet or armarium, with scrolls inside on the upper shelf. From a sarcophagus dated to 200–300 CE, i.e., about the time Plotinus was in Rome. Though found in Ostia, a port near Rome, the Greek inscription suggests a Greek resident. The open case containing surgical tools on the cabinet top, the other scrolls, and a basin for bleeding patients within the cabinet suggest a learned physician (Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y., 48.76.1).
Plato's unwritten doctrines
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Plato's unwritten doctrines are metaphysical theories ascribed to him by his students and other ancient philosophers but not clearly formulated in his writings. In recent research, they are sometimes
Allegorical interpretations of Plato
…Platonism Plato's unwritten doctrines, debate over Plato's esotericism Plato's Myths as Psychology – includes complete text of Plato's myths…
Aristotle referred to Plato's 'unwritten doctrines' and discussed Plato's principle theory.
Aristotle referred to Plato's 'unwritten doctrines' and discussed Plato's principle theory.
The beginning of the Seventh Letter in the oldest, surviving manuscript from the ninth century CE (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Gr. 1807)
The beginning of the Seventh Letter in the oldest, surviving manuscript from the ninth century CE (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Gr. 1807)
Aristotle, his student Theophrastus, and Strato of Lampsacus (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)
Aristotle, his student Theophrastus, and Strato of Lampsacus (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)