Posts Tagged by Plato
The Vow of Socrates
| April 17, 2015 | Posted By Gregory Nagy listed under By Gregory Nagy, H24H |
2015.04.17 | By Gregory Nagy
In Plato’s Phaedo 118a, we read this description of the very last seconds before Socrates died from the poison that pervaded his body after he was forced to drink the potion of hemlock that the State had measured out for his execution:
Then he uncovered his face, for he had covered himself up, and said—this was the last thing he uttered—“Crito, I owe the sacrifice of a rooster to Asklepios; will you pay that debt and not neglect to do so?”
These last words ever spoken by Socrates, as quoted in Plato’s Phaedo, are referring to a ritual performed by worshippers of the cult hero Asklepios. It seems as if Socrates had made a vow to perform such a ritual.
Right away, I need to say more about the ritual act to which Socrates is referring, which is the slaughtering of a rooster as a sacrifice to Asklepios.
[Essay continues here…]On Traces of Hero-Cults for Socrates and Plato
| April 2, 2015 | Posted By Gregory Nagy listed under By Gregory Nagy, H24H |
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2015.04.02 | By Gregory Nagy
I go back to what I published in H24H, almost two years ago, about the last words of Socrates. As I already mentioned in the posting on 2015.03.27, I had quoted and analyzed in H24H 24§45 the passage in Plato’s Phaedo 117a–118a where Socrates dies—and where his last words, as transmitted by Plato, are directed at all those who have had the unforgettable experience of engaging in dialogue with him. He tells them: don’t forget to sacrifice a rooster to Asklepios.
[Essay continues here…]A Roll of the Dice for Ajax
| March 13, 2015 | Posted By Gregory Nagy listed under By Gregory Nagy, HeroesX |
2015.03.13 | By Gregory Nagy
The Greek lettering on the vase shows ΑΧΙΛΛΥΣ over the head of Achilles and ΑΙΑΣ over the head of Ajax. In front of Achilles is a vertical inscription ΤΕΤΑΡΑΦΕΡΟ, meaning ‘I have four’, while the inscription in front of Ajax shows ΔΥΟΦΕΡΟ, meaning ‘I have two’. The goddess Athena, indicated by the lettering ΑΘΕΝΑΑΣ to the right of her head, gestures toward Achilles. Achilles is evidently the winner, since he has the higher number for his throw of the dice.
[Essay continues here…]
