THE IMPORTANCE OF HOMER IN PLATO

Homer is a central figure in the Platonic dialogues. Plato mentions him by name¹ 186 times in the dialogues, more than any other individual who is not an interlocutor.² Homer is mentioned in 23 of the 35 Platonic dia­logues, and Homeric verses are cited or referred to in 28 dialogues and in

¹ Or through words derived from his name.

² Ion (48): 530b9, 530c9, 530d3, 530d7 (x2), 531aι, 531a3, 531a5, 531a7, 531b3, 531cι,

531c2, 531dι, 531d7, 531dιo, 532a5, 532b3, 532c2, 532c6, 533c5, 533d2, 534cι, 536b4, 536b5, 536cι, 536c6, 536d2, 536d3, 536d6, 536d7, 536eι, 536e5, 536e6,

537aι, 537c2, 538b2, 538b7, 538c4, 538c7, 538eι, 539e2, 541b5, 541e2, 541e4,

542aι, 542a2, 542a4, 542b4; Republic (46): 334aιι, 334b4, 363a8, 364d4, 377d4,

378d5, 379c9, 383a7, 387bι, 388a5, 389a3, 389e5, 391a3, 393bι, 393d3, 393d6,

396e5, 404bι0, 404c6, 441b4, 441cι, 468cιo, 468dι, 468d7, 501b6, 516d4, 545d8, 595bιo, 598d8, 599b9, 599c7, 599d2, 599e6, 6ooaι, 6ooaιo, 600b2, 600b7, 600b9, 600c4, 600d5, 600e4, 605cιι, 606eι, 607a2, 607dι, 612b2; Cratylus (14): 391c8, 391d2, 392b9, 392cιo, 392d5, 392e4, 393a2, 393b3, 402a6, 402b4, 407a9, 408a4, 410c2 417c8; Hippias Minor (12): 363bi, 363b3, 363c3, 364c5, 364e5, 365c2, 365c3, 365c8, 365d3, 365d4, 369c3, 371a4; Symposium (9): 174b5, 174c6, 179bι, 180a7, 190b7, 195dι, 195d2, 198c2, 209dι; Minos (7): 318e2, 319a9, 319b2, 319cι, 319c2, 319c8, 319d5; Theatetus (7): 152e5, 153dι, 160d7, 170e2, 179e3, 183e6, 194c7; Laws (6): 624a7, 658b8, 680b4, 68IeI, 706d3, 858eI; Protagoras (6): 309a6, 3IIe3, 3I5b9, 316d7, 340a2, 348c7; Gorgias (5): 449a8, 516c3, 523a3, 525d7, 526dι; Phaedo (4): 94d6, 95aI, 95b7, II2a3; Phaedrus (4): 243a4, 243a6, 252b4, 278c2; Alcibiades II (3): 147c6, 149c8, 150d; Apology of Socrates (2): 34d4, 41a7; Laches (2): 191aι, 201bι; Alcibiades I (I): II2b2; Charmides (I): I6Ia2; Hipparchus (I): 228b7; Lovers (I): I35a4; Meno (I): I00a3; Philebus (I): 62d4; Sophist (I): 2I6a6; Timaeus (I): 2Id2.

10

³ of the 13 Platonic Letters. There are, by my count, 160 quotations of or references to one or more Homeric verses, phrases, or passages in the dialogues and Letters, 104 from the Iliad and 56 from the Odyssey, as well as 31 references by name to Achilles and 37 to Odysseus.³ Moreover,

³ Republic: Quotations/References (49:33 Il, 16 Od): 328e6: Il. 24.486-487; 334b2-3: Od. 19.392-396; 363b4-c2: Od. 19.109, 111-114; 364d6-e2: Il. 9.497-501 (also 365e4; 366a3); 379d3-8: Il. 24.525-532; 381d3-4: Od. 17.485-487; 386c5-7: Od. II.489-49I; 386dI-2: Il. 20.6I-65 (also 387cI); 386d4-5: Il. 23.I00-I04 (also 387a2-3); 386d6-d7: Od. I0.494-495; 386d9-I0: Il. I6.856-857; 387a5-8: Od. 24.6-9; 388a7-bI: Il. 24.9-I2; 388bI-3: Il. I8.23-24; 388b4-7: Il. 22.4I4-4I5; 388cI: Il. I8.54-56; 388c4-5: Il. 22.I68-I70; 388c7-dI: Il. I6.433-434; 389a5-6: Il.

I. 599-600; 389d2-3: Od. I7.382-385; 389e6: Il. 4.4I2-4I4; 389e8-9: Il. 3.8-9, 4.429-43I; 389eI3: Il. I.225-228; 390aI0-b2: Od. 9.5-I0; 390b5: Od. I2.340-342; 390c5-6: Il. I4.294-296; 390d4-5: Od. 20.I7-20 (also 44Ib6); 39Ib3-4: Il. 23.I49-I5I; 39Ia6-7: Il. 22.I5-20; 393a4-5: Il. I.I2-I6; 394a6-7: Il. I.39-42; 408a5: Il. 4.2I7-2I9; 4IIb4: Il. I7.586-588; 424b8-I0: Od. I.350-352; 468d2-2: Il. 7.32I-322; 468dI0-eI:

II. 8.I6I-I62; 50Ib7: Od. 3.4I6, I4.I7I-I73; 544d8: Od. I9.I63; 545d8-eI: Il.

I6.II2-II3; 547a4-5: Il. 6.2II; 566cI0-dI: Il. I6.775-776 [Achilles: 388a6, 390e4, 390e7, 39Ia4, 39IcI] [Odysseus: 334bI, 620c4]; Cratylus: Quotations/References (I3:I2 Il, I Od): 39Ie4-5: Il. 2I.342-380; 39Ie5-6: Il. 20.73-74; 392a5-7: Il. I4.289-29I; 392a7-bI: Il. 2.8I3-8I4; 392eI: Il. 22.506-507; 402b4-5: Il. I4.200-203 (also 30I-303); 407d8-9: Il. 5.22I-223 = 8.I05-I07; 408a3-b4: Od. 2.I62, 3. I94; 4I0b4: Od. 4.567-568; 4I0cI-2: Il. 4.324-325; 4I5a2: Il. 6.262-265; 4I7c8: Il. I6.63I; 428c4-5: Il. 9.644-645; 428d7-8: Il. 3.I09-II0 [Achilles: 482c2]; Symposium: Quotations/References (I2:9 Il, 3 Od): I74cI: Il.

370e8, 370eII, 37Ia4, 37Ia7, 37IbI, 37Ib4, 37Id3, 37Id5, 37Ie2, 37Ie2, 37Ie4];

Protagoras: Quotations/References (6: 3 Il, 3 Od): 309bI: Il. 24.347-348 (also Od. I0.279); 3I5b9: Od. II.60I; 3I5c8: Od. II.582-583; 340a4-7: Il. 2I.308-3I0; Homer is, as we have seen, identified in the Platonic dialogues not only as a poet but also as a thinker of singular significance: “the first teacher and leader” of all the tragic poets; the first of the wise men, or “sophists”; and the “general” or leader and inspiration of “all” of the philosophers except Parmenides.⁴ Perhaps most importantly, Homer is singled out as the educator of the Greeks and therefore, in some sense, the teacher of all of those who appear in the Platonic dialogues, including Socrates and Plato themselves.⁵

There are two reasons for believing that there is a fundamental har­mony between Plato and Homer.

348dι-4: Il. 10.224-226; Theatetus: Quotations/References (6: 5 Il, ι Od): 152e7: Il. 14.200-203 (also 301-303); 153c9: Il. 8.18-20; 170eι: Od. 16.121; 183e6: Il. 3.171-172; 194c7-e5: Il. 16.553-555; Phaedrus: Quotations/References (5: 4 Il, 1 Od): 247e5-6: Il. 5.368-369; 260a5-6: Il. 2.361; 266b6-7: Il. 22.157, Od. 5.192-193; 275b8: Il. 22.126-128; [Odysseus: 261b6, 261c3]; Minos: Quotations/References (4: 1 Il, 3 Od): 319b2-6: Od. 19.178-179 (also 319d9); 319dι-3: Od. 11.568-572; 321cι-3: Il. 2.243; Apology of Socrates: Quotations/References (3: 2 Il, ι Od): 28c7-d2: Il. 18.95-99; 28d3-4: Il. 18.102-104; 34d4-5: Od. 19.163 [Odysseus: 41cι]; Alcibiades I: Quotations/References (2: 1 Il, 1 Od): 131e3: Od. 2.364-365; 132a5: Il. 2.546-547 [Odysseus 112b9]; Charmides: Quotations/References (2: 2 Od): 161a4: Od. 17.345-347; 173a7-8: Od. 19.562-567; Euthydemus: Quotations/References (2: 2 Od): 288b7-8: Od. 4.385-459; 288c1-2: Od. 4.454-455; Euthyphro: Quotations/References (2: 1 Il, 1 Od): 8b3-4: Il. 1.586-594; 15d2-4: Od. 4.385-464; Laches: Quotations/ References (2: ³ Il, ³ Od): 191aιo-b3: Il 5.221-223 = 8.105-107; 201b2-3: Od. 17.345-347; Phaedo: Quotations/References (2: 1 Il, 1 Od): 94d8-e1: Od. 20.17-20; 112a3: Il. 8: 13-14; Philebus: Quotations/References (2: 2 Il): 47e8-9: Il. 18:107-110; 62d4-5: Il. 4.452-456; Sophist: Quotations/References (2: 1 Il, 1 Od): 216c5: Od. ³7.485-487; 268d2-3: Il. 6:2³³; Crito: Quotations/References: 44b2: Il. 9.357-363; Lovers: Quotations/References: 135a3-5: Od. 21.285-286; Lysis: Quotations/ References: 214a6: Od. 17.217-218; Meno: Quotations/References: 100a5: Od.

⁴ Republic 595b9-c2 (see also 607a2-3); Protagoras 316d3-9; Theatetus 152c8-153a2; (see 153c6-d7, 160d5-e2); Cratylus 401eι-402c3.

⁵ Republic 606eι-607a5; see also 376e2-377e4, 595b9-10; Laws 68obι-dι. Ramona Naddaff observes that, in the Republic, Socrates “can ostensibly repeat Homer from memory, word for word. In fact, he knows his Homer so well that he can thematically call from memory any and all of the Homeric passages that relate to death and fear” (2002, 39). See also Marrou ³98³, ³³8.

⁶ Laws 776e6; see also 658d6-10, 682aι-682a5.

“a certain friendship for” Homer and “shame” before him “since child­hood” (Republic 595b9-10). Socrates suggests as well, at the end of the Apology, that to associate and converse with Homer, among others, in an afterlife, would be “wondrous” and would constitute an “inconceivable happiness” (41a6-c4).^[20]

Secondly, Plato himself and Homer resemble one another in important ways. Plato’s Socrates' identification of Homer as a philosophic thinker, who inspired such philosophers as Heraclitus and Empedocles and is comparable to such philosophers as Thales and Pythagoras, suggests that Homer also inspired and is comparable to the philosophers Socrates and Plato themselves.^[21] Homer is of course a poet as well, but so is Plato, albeit one who composes in prose. Both Plato and Homer compose dramatic works that are primarily in direct discourse.^[22] Both depict characters and scenes vividly, charmingly, and, at times, movingly.^[23] Both focus on outstanding individuals - Socrates, on the one hand, and Achilles and Odysseus, on the other - who come into deadly conflict with their own political communities.^[24] In the customarily enigmatic manner of poets, both Plato and Homer hide themselves insofar as, for the most part, they do not address their readers or audience directly.^[25] But both poets are also philosophic thinkers, whose heroes raise far-reaching questions about the human condition and human excellence and whose works point to the superiority of the contemplative life over the active life of politics.^[26] Indeed, in his defense speech before the city of Athens, Plato’s Socrates goes so far as to compare himself to Homer’s Achilles (Apology of Socrates 28b3-29aι).^[27] Both Plato and Homer, then, are philosophic poets, who seek to combine the grace of poetry with the penetration of philosophy, and who seek to introduce their readers and audience, in poetic fashion, to philosophic reflection and the life of the mind.

Notwithstanding this apparent harmony between Plato and Homer, Plato harshly attacks “the poets” as a whole and Homer, “the first teacher and leader” and “the most poetic and first of the tragic poets,” in particular,^[28] and he does so in two especially prominent dialogues: first, in the Apology of Socrates, where Socrates addresses the city of Athens as a whole; and second, and most emphatically and extensively, in his longest Socratic dialogue, the Republic.^[29] Moreover, this attack seems distinctive to Plato rather than to Socrates, since Xenophon, the other student of Socrates who wrote Socratic dialogues and who presents his dialogues as historical ones,^[30] never presents Socrates criticizing poets as a whole or Homer in particular.^[31] In Plato’s Apology, Socrates accuses “the poets” of believing themselves the “wisest” of humans, while in truth “they know nothing of what they speak.”^[32] In the Republic, Socrates attacks Homer for telling harmful lies and also harmful truths about gods

Homer, Plato, and the Homeric Education on the Gods 15 and humans;^[29] for promoting impiety, injustice, cowardice, and immod­eration;^[30] and for mutilating thought, promoting ignorance, and destroy­ing reason in the soul.^[31] He also attacks Achilles - the hero Homer identifies as the greatest by far but whom Socrates criticizes each of the five times he names him.^[32] Socrates attacks Achilles as foolish (379c9-e2), cowardly and unmanly (386a6-388b3), immoderate (389d7-390a5), greedy (390d7-391aι, 391b7-c6), impious (391a3-c6), and therefore wholly unworthy of imitation. Finally, Socrates insists that Homer be expelled from the most just city imaginable.^[33] If Homer is the educator of the Greeks, that education is evidently profoundly defective.

Plato’s harsh criticism of Homer in the Republic seems, at least in part, rhetorical.^[34] For example, Socrates singles out Achilles - among all of the Homeric heroes - for lacking courage, even though Achilles would seem to be far more courageous, both on and off the battlefield, than any other Homeric hero.^[35] To cite another example, much of Socrates’ criticism of Homer takes the form of criticism of Achilles,^[36] on the apparent assump­tion that Homer simply identifies with Achilles and simply celebrates Achilles; and yet Achilles is the most criticized character in Homer’s Iliad, the object of many explicit and powerful criticisms both by other characters and by Homer himself.^[37] Socrates’ suggestion that Homer may have a hidden teaching invites one to wonder whether Socrates’ attack is not merely, or primarily, on the surface teaching of Homer’s poems (Republic 378d3-e3). Nonetheless, the fact remains that Plato devoted his considerable rhetorical powers to attacking Homer in the longest of

Plato’s Socratic dialogues. In this way, Plato evidently sought to over­throw Homer’s cultural supremacy over the Greeks.^[38] Why did he do so?

The fundamental issue between Homer and Plato appears to be the education of the Greeks, or, more broadly, the proper education for human beings. The Homeric education, Plato suggests, is somehow defective. But how?

Plato’s Socrates attacks Homer on three key points: his portrayal of the gods,^[39] his portrayal of heroes as exemplars of human excellence,^[40] and his portrayal of himself.^[41] All three are key elements of Homer’s educa­tion of the Greeks. In order to understand Plato’s precise critique of Homer’s education, we must first fully examine the most important features of the Homeric education itself.