Hesiod in Plato - Second fiddle to Homer?

Yamagata, Naoko (2010). Hesiod in Plato - Second fiddle to Homer? In: Boys-Stones, G. and Haubold, J. eds. Plato and Hesiod. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 68–88.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199236343.003.0005

URL: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199236343.d...

Abstract

This chapter surveys the relationship between Homer and Hesiod in Plato's work, focusing on the ways in which different Platonic characters portray and invoke the two poets. Tabulating and analysing Platonic allusions to Hesiod, it concludes that Plato depicts Socrates as a lover of Homer, whereas his interlocutors draw more freely on Hesiod. Moreover, there appears to be a tendency among Platonic speakers to be more optimistic about the truth of ‘Homeric’ myths (i.e. myths constructed from Homeric elements) than that of ‘Hesiodic’ ones.

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