| Description |
1 online resource |
| Contents |
Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; An eccentric dialogue; The question of parody; If not parody; PART I The Menexenus, its persons, its problems; 1 Synopsis of the dialogue; Opening dialogue (234a-236d); Funeral speech (236d-249c); Closing dialogue (249d-e); 2 Persons and dates of the dialogue; Socrates; Aspasia; Other tutors: Connus, Antiphon and Lamprus; Archinus and Dion; Menexenus; Pericles; 3 The Athenian funeral speech; The genre: three cautions; The Menexenus against the backdrop of its genre; The funeral speech in Loraux |
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4 The Menexenus as parody, as improvementThe relationship between the two funeral speeches; Positive arguments: the Menexenus speech as improvement; Positive argument from precedent; Negative arguments: against the Menexenus speech as parody; PART II Education and rhetoric; 5 Scenes of instruction; Pericles' missed opportunities; Education and rhetoric; Pericles and moral education; Scenes of instruction in the Menexenus; Instruction as intrusion; 6 Philosophical rhetoric; Logos and ergon; Praise; Improvisation; PART III Myth and history; 7 Myth; Stories of Athens |
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Mythic passages in the MenexenusPlato's myths; Autochthony in Athens; Autochthony in Plato; Autochthony and nature in the Menexenus; Autochthony and human difference in the Menexenus; The meanings of autochthony; 8 History; Philosophical history; Omissions and other distortions of history; The Menexenus and the historians; Order in history; Soul, city, world; A parody of history?; Conclusion: Buried in philosophy; The Menexenus's improvements to the funeral speech; The Menexenus and other dialogues; The Phaedrus; Bibliography; Index |
| Summary |
"Menexenus is one of the least studied among Plato's works, mostly because of the puzzling nature of the text, which has led many scholars either to reject the dialogue as spurious or to consider it as a mocking parody of Athenian funeral rhetoric. In this book, Pappas and Zelcer provide a persuasive alternative reading of the text, one that contributes in many ways to our understanding of Plato, and specifically to our understanding of his political thought. The book is organized into two parts. In the first part the authors offer a synopsis of the dialogue, address the setting and its background in terms of the Athenian funeral speech, and discuss the alternative readings of the dialogue, showing their weaknesses and strengths. In the second part, the authors offer their positive interpretation of the dialogue, taking particular care to explain and ground their interpretive criteria and method, which considers Plato's text not simply as a de-contextualized collection of philosophical arguments but offers a theoretically reading of the text that situates it firmly within its historical context. The book will become a reference point in the debate about the Menexenus and Plato's political philosophy more generally and marks an important contribution to our understanding of ancient thought and classical Athenian society"-- Provided by publisher |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Vendor-supplied metadata |
| Subject |
Plato. Menexenus.
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| SUBJECT |
Menexenus (Plato) fast (OCoLC)fst01357613 |
| Subject |
Rhetoric, Ancient.
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Rhetoric -- Philosophy.
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PHILOSOPHY -- History & Surveys -- Ancient & Classical.
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Rhetoric, Ancient.
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Rhetoric -- Philosophy.
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
Zelcer, Mark, author.
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| ISBN |
9781317592204 |
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1317592204 |
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