On the Daimonion of Socrates: Human Liberation, Divine Guidance and Philosophy

Front Cover
Mohr Siebeck, 2010 - Literary Criticism - 225 pages
Plutarch's dialogue "On the daimonion of Socrates" is a unique combination of exciting historical romance and serious philosophical and religious discussion: A narrator from Boeotian Thebes tells his Athenian friend how Thebes was liberated from Spartan domination in a fateful night of midwinter 379/8 BC and connects this with the retelling of a fascinating philosophical discussion about the famous daimonion of Socrates in the afternoon and evening before. Besides presenting an introduction, a revised Greek text, and a new English translation (with copious notes), the volume offers a range of essays on themes providing further insights into this masterly literary piece: on the historical, religious and philosophical background and on thematic connections with other works by Plutarch.

About the author (2010)

PLUTARCH. c.46--c.125 Considered by many to be the most important Greek writer of the early Roman period, Plutarch was a member of a well-to-do Greek family, a chief magistrate, a priest at Delphi, and an exceptionally well-read individual. His philosophical views were based on those of Plato and, although a Greek, he esteemed the achievements and attributes of the Romans. By the time Plutarch's works were published for the first time in the eleventh century, some had already been lost. He wrote innumerable essays on philosophical, historical, political, religious, and literary subjects, 78 of which survive today and are known collectively as the "Moralia." He is known primarily, however, for his Parallel Lives of Greeks and Romans, which consists of 50 biographies---23 of prominent Greeks, 23 of Roman leaders, and 4 separate lives---accompanied at intervals by short comparative essays. Although historical information is included in the work, Plutarch wrote it originally to inspire emulation in youth, so the emphasis is on character, moral choice, and anecdote. Sir Thomas North's 1579 translation into English of Parallel Lives became an important source for William Shakespeare which he used for three plays, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Coriolanus.

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