Abstract

This dissertation includes a translation of Plato's Menon and an account of the dialogue as a whole. The Menon is described by many influential commentators to be a transitional dialogue in Plato's corpus; that is, one combining characteristics of what scholars name as the "early" and "middle" dialogues of Plato. These scholars believe that although the Menon presents many aspects of an "early" or "Socratic" dialogue , it is the first to introduce the Platonic metaphysical elements that characterize the "middle" dialogues. In the dissertation I argue that the aim of Socrates' search is not for a definition of excellence, as most commentators believe; instead, I argue that Socrates' model answer for the "What is excellence?" question must be understood in light of the doctrine of $\alpha\nu\acute \alpha\mu\nu\eta\sigma\iota\zeta$, and I also argue that this doctrine implicitly assumes the hierarchical metaphysical picture that is presented in Plato's Republic, and explained in detail by later philosophers like Plotinus and Proclus. Moreover, I show that in the Menon the doctrine of $\alpha\nu\acute\alpha\mu\nu\eta\sigma\iota\zeta$ follows from Socrates' understanding of the ancient Wisdom tradition, and is intimately associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries