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Work

Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus

Plato

Outside Athens’ walls, Plato shows Socrates improvising and then recanting a speech about love. The character becomes inspired speaker, analyst of soul, and critic of writing unable to answer questions.

Composition
c. 370-360 BCE
Sources and precision

The internal chronology remains disputed. This range is a qualified reference point, not a certain year.

Confidence C · probable range

Period
Antiquity
Languages
Ancient Greek · English · French
Extent
53 passages · 23,263 words

Before reading

What you will learn

Compare Socrates’ successive roles as speaker and dialectician, analyze his palinode, and qualify Plato’s criticism of writing.

Short summary

Outside Athens’ walls, Plato shows Socrates improvising and then recanting a speech about love. The character becomes inspired speaker, analyst of soul, and critic of writing unable to answer questions.

Long summary

After competing with Lysias, Socrates covers his head to disparage the lover, then invokes his divine sign and delivers a palinode in which desire, recollection, and beauty lead the soul toward intelligible reality. He next moves from performance to standards for knowledgeable speech.

This richness is not intellectual autobiography. Plato gives the character myths, a method of division, and an ideal of living speech. The witness illuminates several images of Socrates while placing them within a late and reflective composition.

Inside this work

The table of contents follows the divisions actually carried by the corpus.

Work › Reference

  1. Passage 227
  2. Passage 228
  3. Passage 229
  4. Passage 230
  5. Passage 231
  6. Passage 232
  7. Passage 233
  8. Passage 234
  9. Passage 235
  10. Passage 236
  11. Passage 237
  12. Passage 238
  13. Passage 239
  14. Passage 240
  15. Passage 241
  16. Passage 242
  17. Passage 243
  18. Passage 244
  19. Passage 245
  20. Passage 246
  21. Passage 247
  22. Passage 248
  23. Passage 249
  24. Passage 250
  25. Passage 251
  26. Passage 252
  27. Passage 253
  28. Passage 254
  29. Passage 255
  30. Passage 256
  31. Passage 257
  32. Passage 258
  33. Passage 259
  34. Passage 260
  35. Passage 261
  36. Passage 262
  37. Passage 263
  38. Passage 264
  39. Passage 265
  40. Passage 266
  41. Passage 267
  42. Passage 268
  43. Passage 269
  44. Passage 270
  45. Passage 271
  46. Passage 272
  47. Passage 273
  48. Passage 274
  49. Passage 275
  50. Passage 276
  51. Passage 277
  52. Passage 278
  53. Passage 279

Concepts covered

Historical context

The world around the text

The corpus manifests do not yet establish the precise place and circumstances of composition. The images below document the author’s world or the text’s transmission. They do not claim to show the exact scene of writing.

These are modern reconstructions. They situate a documented place, practice, or transmission and are not period documents.

Modern reconstruction of Questioning in the Agora for Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus on Prokopton42.com
Questioning in the AgoraA modern interpretation of Socrates in the documented context titled “Questioning in the Agora”, set around c. 410 BCE.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Socrates
Modern reconstruction of Nearby historical landmark, 146 BCE for Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus on Prokopton42.com
Nearby historical landmark, 146 BCERome destroys Corinth and dominates Greece politically, while Greek philosophy increasingly shapes Roman elites. The image situates Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus without claiming to show its scene of composition.
Modern reconstruction of Nearby historical landmark, 508 BCE for Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus on Prokopton42.com
Nearby historical landmark, 508 BCECleisthenes’ reforms reorganize Athenian civic life and help establish its democracy. The image situates Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus without claiming to show its scene of composition.

What the world looked like

Classical Greek world, 5th century BCE

Modern reconstruction of the material world around Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus: Technology, science, and care
Technology, science, and careBronze, iron, pottery, simple cranes, and shipbuilding sustain cities. Power still comes mainly from people, animals, wind, and water. Geometry, astronomy, inquiry into nature, and rational argument advance without modern measuring instruments or standardized experiments. Practitioners observe symptoms, diet, and seasons; healing sanctuaries and ritual treatment also remain common.
Modern reconstruction of the material world around Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus: Travel and communication
Travel and communicationWalking and animals dominate on land. Sailing ships and triremes connect islands, ports, and colonies. Public speech, messengers, and handwritten letters carry news. Theatre, the civic square, and the banquet are major social media.
Modern reconstruction of the material world around Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus: Farming and food
Farming and foodSmall farms, grain, vines, olives, goats, and sheep shape the diet; harvests remain vulnerable to weather and war.
Modern reconstruction of the material world around Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus: Clothing, women and men
Clothing, women and menWomen and men drape wool or linen as chitons, peploi, and cloaks. Garments are pinned, belted, and shaped by status rather than tailored like modern clothes.
State of technology
Bronze, iron, pottery, simple cranes, and shipbuilding sustain cities. Power still comes mainly from people, animals, wind, and water.
Science and knowledge
Geometry, astronomy, inquiry into nature, and rational argument advance without modern measuring instruments or standardized experiments.
Medicine and care
Practitioners observe symptoms, diet, and seasons; healing sanctuaries and ritual treatment also remain common.
Transport
Walking and animals dominate on land. Sailing ships and triremes connect islands, ports, and colonies.
Agriculture and food
Small farms, grain, vines, olives, goats, and sheep shape the diet; harvests remain vulnerable to weather and war.
Communication
Public speech, messengers, and handwritten letters carry news. Theatre, the civic square, and the banquet are major social media.
Clothing and fashion
Women and men drape wool or linen as chitons, peploi, and cloaks. Garments are pinned, belted, and shaped by status rather than tailored like modern clothes.

Editions, translations, and provenance

The following carriers represent the text. They do not create new passage identities.

  • Ancient Greekoriginal_carrier
  • Englishhistorical_translation
  • Frenchhistorical_translation

Source manifests: socrates.plato_phaedrus

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Socrates in Plato’s PhaedrusPlato

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What you will learn

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