Plato Comicus and Plato Philosophus: Proposal of a Unified Identity
Informazioni aggiuntive
Autori
Tipo
Articolo pubblicato in rivista scientifica
Anno
in uscita
Lingua
Inglese
Sommario
This paper argues that Plato the philosopher and the comic poet of the same name were a single individual whose early career in Old Attic Comedy shaped his philosophical writings. A careful reading of the incipit of the Seventh Letter allows for a revision of his mythological birth, traditionally set in 428 BCE, to approximately 441–439 BCE. In this way, his comedic victories become intertwined with his philosophical beginnings. Athens’ fusion of theater and politics, epitomized in Old Comedy, an identical pun in Comicus’ Symmachia and the Philosopher’s Meno, the undercurrent of comedic intent in Plato’s Phaedrus, and the pivotal role of comedic choruses in the Laws–offers textual traces that unify Plato’s identities. The two-Plato tradition, which emerged during the Renaissance and was formalized in the nineteenth century, is a post-antique construct, driven by antiquity’s reticence toward comedy, Alexandrian literary genre division, and Neoplatonic idealization. Reimagining Plato as a poet-philosopher reframes his political engagement and philosophical legacy, while reassessing the value of his vivid interest in the affairs of Athens. This paper is divided into four sections: The Problem; A Revised Platonic Chronology; The Two-Plato Tradition: A Post-Classical Split; Conclusions.
Parole chiave
Plato, ancient comedy, chronology, textual tradition, Plato Comicus.
Periodico
Tbd
Volume
2025
Numero ( Mese )
2
Pagine (o numero dell’articolo)
1-43
