Socrates’ kατάβασις and the Sophistic Shades: Education and Democracy
This article addresses the unusually elaborate dramatic context in Plato’s Protagoras and effect of sophistry on democratic Athens. Because Socrates evokes Odysseus’ κατάβασις in the Odyssey to describe the sophists in Callias’ house (314c-316b), I propose that Socrates depicts the sophists as bodi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Coimbra University Press
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Plato |
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| Online Access: | https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/platojournal/article/view/10974 |
| _version_ | 1797815086840020992 |
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| author | Christine Rojcewicz |
| author_facet | Christine Rojcewicz |
| author_sort | Christine Rojcewicz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This article addresses the unusually elaborate dramatic context in Plato’s Protagoras and effect of sophistry on democratic Athens. Because Socrates evokes Odysseus’ κατάβασις in the Odyssey to describe the sophists in Callias’ house (314c-316b), I propose that Socrates depicts the sophists as bodiless shades residing in Hades. Like the shades dwelling in Hades with no connection to embodied humans on Earth, the sophists in the Protagoras are non-Athenians with no consideration for the democratic body of the Athenian πόλις. I conclude that sophistry can be detrimental to Athenian democracy because it can produce education inequality founded on wealth inequality.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T08:17:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33db19ee47ee4a6ea88cae607da6e42c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-7567 2183-4105 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T08:17:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Coimbra University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plato |
| spelling | doaj.art-33db19ee47ee4a6ea88cae607da6e42c2023-05-31T14:11:33ZengCoimbra University PressPlato2079-75672183-41052023-05-012410.14195/2183-4105_24_4Socrates’ kατάβασις and the Sophistic Shades: Education and DemocracyChristine Rojcewicz0Boston College This article addresses the unusually elaborate dramatic context in Plato’s Protagoras and effect of sophistry on democratic Athens. Because Socrates evokes Odysseus’ κατάβασις in the Odyssey to describe the sophists in Callias’ house (314c-316b), I propose that Socrates depicts the sophists as bodiless shades residing in Hades. Like the shades dwelling in Hades with no connection to embodied humans on Earth, the sophists in the Protagoras are non-Athenians with no consideration for the democratic body of the Athenian πόλις. I conclude that sophistry can be detrimental to Athenian democracy because it can produce education inequality founded on wealth inequality. https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/platojournal/article/view/10974PlatoSophistryHomerLiterary interpretationEducationPolitics |
| spellingShingle | Christine Rojcewicz Socrates’ kατάβασις and the Sophistic Shades: Education and Democracy Plato Plato Sophistry Homer Literary interpretation Education Politics |
| title | Socrates’ kατάβασις and the Sophistic Shades: Education and Democracy |
| title_full | Socrates’ kατάβασις and the Sophistic Shades: Education and Democracy |
| title_fullStr | Socrates’ kατάβασις and the Sophistic Shades: Education and Democracy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Socrates’ kατάβασις and the Sophistic Shades: Education and Democracy |
| title_short | Socrates’ kατάβασις and the Sophistic Shades: Education and Democracy |
| title_sort | socrates kατάβασις and the sophistic shades education and democracy |
| topic | Plato Sophistry Homer Literary interpretation Education Politics |
| url | https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/platojournal/article/view/10974 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christinerojcewicz socrateskatabasisandthesophisticshadeseducationanddemocracy |