In der 1968 gegründeten Reihe erscheinen Monographien aus den Gebieten der Griechischen und Lateinischen Philologie sowie der Alten Geschichte. Die Bände weisen eine große Vielzahl von Themen auf: neben sprachlichen, textkritischen oder gattungsgeschichtlichen philologischen Untersuchungen stehen sozial-, politik-, finanz- und kulturgeschichtliche Arbeiten aus der Klassischen Antike und der Spätantike. Entscheidend für die Aufnahme ist die Qualität einer Arbeit; besonderen Wert legen die Herausgeber auf eine umfassende Heranziehung der einschlägigen Texte und Quellen und deren sorgfältige kritische Auswertung.

Die pseudoplatonischen Dialoge Ã_ber die Tugend und Alkyon Hubertus Neuhausen: Der pseudo-platonische Alkibiades II und die sokratischen Alkibiadesdialoge Rosa Maria Piccione: Gli Pseudoplatonica nella tradizione dei florilegi Christopher ...

All disciplines can count on a noble founder, and the representation of this founder as an authority is key in order to construe a discipline's identity. This book sheds light on how Plato and other authorities were represented in one of the most long-lasting traditions of all time. It leads the reader through exegesis and polemics, recovery of the past and construction of a philosophical identity. From Xenocrates to Proclus, from the sceptical shift to the re-establishment of dogmatism, from the (...) Mosaic of the Philosophers to the Neoplatonist Commentaries, the construction of authority emerges as a way of access to the core of the Platonist tradition. (shrink)

At the Third Congress of the Society for Ancient Philosophy, philologists and philosophers gave presentations about this point of intersection between philosophical argument and literary forms. This volume seeks to provide insight into the discussion as well as stimulate further thought.

Rhetorik hat als kommunikativ-persuasive Praxis und als Theorie ihren Ursprung in der griechisch-römischen Antike. Der Band bietet zunächst in historischer Perspektive Beiträge zum institutionellen Kontext antiker Rhetorik, zu ihrer Entwicklung als Praxis und Theorie von der griechischen Poliskultur bis in die römische Kaiserzeit sowie zu den antiken Debatten um ihr Wesen und ihre Verantwortbarkeit. Ein systematischer Teil behandelt dann das Verhältnis von Rhetorik und Literatur, von mündlicher Rede und geschriebenem Text, sowie die Frage außertextlicher Rhetorik. In einem dritten Schritt werden (...) die Rezeptionen und Transformationen der antiken Rhetorik in Mittelalter und früher Neuzeit sowie in Barock und Moderne in den Blick genommen. Der Band verbindet eine umfassende Darstellung der wesentlichen Aspekte antiker Rhetorik mit vertiefenden Einzelanalysen und möchte zugleich zur Einführung dienen und für das Fachpublikum von Interesse sein. (shrink)

Rappe's book argues for a "contemplative" understanding of Socrates and proposes to distinguish between an "outer Socrates," the one who strives for definitions and denies being wise, and an "inner Socrates," who exemplifies a wisdom that consists in self-investigation. The introduction, "Socratic Ignorance and Platonic Knowledge," presents Socrates as being part of the western "esoteric tradition"—as Rappe calls it—in so far as he stands for an initiation to philosophy that is in essence self-knowledge. According to Rappe, this esoteric tradition is (...) not to be confused with dogmatic or ironic esotericism, but stands for a "lived experience"... (shrink)

An obvious feature of Plato’s writings that distinguishes them from the works of later Platonists is his use of the dialogue form. Even more specifically and strikingly, the character of Socrates—whose voice is sometimes so hard to disentangle from that of Plato himself—occupies centre stage in almost all of Plato’s writings, while he is conspicuous by his absence from those of later Platonists. Yet the voice of Socrates can still be heard in the writings of later Platonists, even though it (...) is not presented in a dramatic form as in Plato’s dialogues. This chapter investigates a key Socratic theme that remains very important in later Neoplatonic writers, namely the ability of the individual to seek for and find knowledge, particularly self-knowledge. In Plato’s own representation of Socrates in his dialogues, Socrates is portrayed as speaking of himself in almost religious terms, presenting himself as a revealer of the truth to others. In their pessimistic view of human beings’ ability to discover the truth, and in their emphasis upon the need for divine revelation, the later Neoplatonists exhibit an understanding of the role of Socrates which reflects the way in which Plato has him portray himself in his dialogues. Thus, the voice of Socrates continues to speak in the writings of the Neoplatonists, despite their abandoning of the dialogue form which Plato used to make him address the reader explicitly. (shrink)

Argument and literary form, and how they both relate to each other, are crucial aspects of any interpretation of the Platonic dialogues. Plato the author and Plato the philosopher always work hand in hand in that Plato the author tries to serve Plato the philosopher. It is, therefore, an appropriate principle for approaching the study of Plato’s philosophy to take into account the literary aspects of the dialogues and to ask how Plato’s literary art of writing could possibly support his (...) philosophical message and, for instance, to consider what this relation means in the context of the debate about developementalism versus unitarianism in Plato’s philosophy. In the present paper, I argue that the performance of the characters plays an important role in this context. I discuss various passages in the Laws which analyse the weakness of the will and I compare what Plato says there with the performance of Alcibiades in the Symposium. I conclude that the passages in the Laws can be read as a kind of commentary on Alcibiades’ behavior and I consider what this relation means in the context of the debate about developementalism versus unitarianism in Plato’s philosophy. (shrink)

The present paper focuses on the two works of Plato’s first tetralogyso as to bring out and generally characterize the Socratic dimensionof Plato’s philosophizing. It is common knowledge that Socrates’ trialand defense inspired Plato to engage in dialogical writing which culminatedin the famous logoi Sokratikoi. The article deals with the followingissues: 1. Philosophy as a ‘care for the soul’ in the Apology; 2. “The unexaminedlife is not worth living for a human being” ; 3. Philosophyas a service to the god (...) in the Euthyphro; 4. Socrates’ elenchos;5. Plato’s logoi Sokratikoi. While the issues are lively debated in thesubject literature, the present paper makes references to several importantstudies and to the broader account of Plato’s philosophy that is to befound in Erler 2006 and Erler 2007. (shrink)

In Plato’s Phaedrus, Socrates asserts that madness is a good thing if it comes from the gods, and demonstrates this using the example of love. Eroticism becomes thereby philosophy, the lover a philosopher, with Plato’s Socrates serving as prototype. The question remains, however, how madness can be reconciled with a philosophical search for truth which relies entirely on rationality. This question must be considered within the context of the growing antagonism between irrationality and rationality, enlightenment and counter-enlightenment, cultic ritual and (...) reason, in the fifth century. Evidence of this antagonism forms a helpful background for interpretation of the question of the role of insanity in the philosophy of the Platonic Socrates. It can be shown that Plato gives Socrates characteristics from the context of contemporary counter-enlightenment and thereby transforms these and integrates them into philosophy. This process can be clearly demonstrated by means of the comparison of Socrates with a gadfly in the Apology. (shrink)

The present paper is the first Polish translation of the following excerpts from the Author’s original and innovative book entitled Platon : IV 4. a) Kritik der Schriftlichkeit; b) Hören des Richtiges, Verfehlen der Wahrheit: Platons Kritik der Mündlichkeit; IX 1. Schriftlicher Dialog und mündliches Prinziepiendenken; 2. Einheit und Vielheit: Ein Rekonstruktionsversuch; 3. Mündliche Lehre als Ergänzung des schriftlichen Dialogs. The book represents a new paradigm in research on Plato and the topics developed in it constitute a concise and coherent (...) account of Plato’s critique of writing and orality as well as the related theory of principles. While these issues continue to be an area of scholarly debate, the authors groundbreaking proposals provide an invaluable point of reference for anyone truly interested in Plato’s philosophy. We are extremely grateful to the Author as well as the Publisher for their permission to publish a Polish translation of the aforementioned parts of this excellent book. (shrink)