1st Edition
Politics and Philosophy in Plato's Menexenus
236 Pages
by
Routledge
244 Pages
by
Routledge
244 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
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,... Read more
Introduction
Part 1: The Menexenus, its Persons, its Problems
1. Synopsis of the dialogue
2. Persons and dates of the dialogue
3. The Athenian funeral speech
4. The Menexenus as parody, as improvement
Part 2: Education and Rhetoric
5. Scenes of instruction: Pericles' missed opportunities
6. Philosophical rhetoric
Part 3: Myth and History
7. Myth
8. History
Index
Biography
Nickolas Pappas, Mark Zelcer
"This book offers an extended treatment of Plato's Menexenus, which shows Socrates declaiming a funeral oration to his young friend Menexenus."
- Ryan K. Balot, University of Toronto, Canada






