LAntiquit Classique

PLATO'S ATLANTIS Author(s): Slobodan Duani Source: LAntiquit Classique, T. 51 (1982), pp. 25-52 Published by: LAntiquit Classique Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41652634 . Accessed: 11/01/2014 12:28
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PLATO S ATLANTIS

1. There have been many attempts at locatingthe remainsof Atlas' island as describedin the Timaeus and the Crtias. In recentdecades it has become popular to equate Atlantiswith Minoan Crete or Thera beforethe volcanic destructions and fifteenth of the sixteenth century B.C. l. Though a combinationwith Bronze Age Crete or Thera seems less implausiblethan othersof a similarorder,therecan be littledoubt thatthe idea of treating Plato's storyabout the vast island as historical in a simple sense should be abandoned entirely. Platonic scholarship has already adduced conclusive argumentsagainstsuch an interpretation of the Atlantismyth2, and the thesis of its parabolic character On the one hand, the place of the hardlyneeds detailedcorroboration. its relevance to the mythwithinthe Timaeus and, more specifically, physicaland politico-psychological teachingof the dialogue show that we are dealing with a philosophical illustration, not with a realistic the a lost On the account of bulk of the elementsin other, kingdom. * The from theTimaeus and theCrtias are basedon the English quotations translations andA. E. Taylor(the (the Timaeus) Crtias). byB. Jowett 1 Cf.J.V. Luce,TheEndof Atlantis. New onan OldLegend , London 1969, Light with bibl. contributions in this therecent note A. Raubitscheks line, Among paper Sixth Plato andMinos read tothe ofClassical Studies I have 1974). (Madrid, Congress notseenJ. M. Ross'article, Is there in Atlantis ?, in Durham anytruth University inJHS,98 (1978),176,n. 2]. Journal 69,2, p. 189-199 [cited 2 See e.g. B. Jowett, The Dialogues 3, III (Oxford 1892),519; Th. of Plato Denker Griechische ofG. G. Berry's 1902)[p.200ff. Gomperz, , III (Leipzig transi., Greek Political Platoand His Predecessors London, 19697];E. Barker, , Theory. Platon London, 1918,311ff. ; U. vonWilamowitz-Moellendorff, , I (Berlin 1920), 595ff. Platon. Oeuvres 1925(coll.Belles ; A. Rivaud, , X [Paris, compltes Lettres)], 27 ff. Plato 439f.; L. Robin, Platon 203; ; A. E. Taylor, , London, 1926, , Paris, 1935, R. Hackforth, inClass.Rev.,58 (1944), 7 ff. Plato's ; F. M. Cornford, , Cosmology New York,1957,8 ; R. Weil, Archologie" de Platon , Paris,1959,18ff. ; A. R. Levy, Stewart-G. TheMyths , London, 1960,408ff. ; P. Friedlnder, ofPlato Platon 327ff. in RG, 11 (1964), 3, I (Berlin, 1964),214ff., ; P. Vidal-Naquet, 420ff. Plot andThought inPlato's ; W. Welliver, Character, Timaeus-Critias, Leiden, 1977; Ch. Gill, inClass.Phil 287ff. ., 72 (1977),

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Athens likewise, are Plato's descriptionof Atlantis,and of primitive to actual phenomena of the classical eitherpurelysymbolicalor refer whose existencewould an isolated not reflect do tradition, epoch ; they an ancientempireand its in about to explain itself, have been difficult war with Athens. Even the disappearance of Atlantis in violent earthquakesand floods the partof the legend which formedperhaps the strongest supportforthe Minoan hypothesis may be understood which had occurredwithinPlato's as alludingto a naturalcatastrophe as we shall see. Lastly,the mythhas such a complex bearing lifetime, in the 350's, and containsso many on Greek politicalproblemscurrent of Athens affairs in the linksto Plato's own position partyand foreign and Syracuse of the same period, that the compromise solution (H. Herter et al.) - postulatinga genuine old traditionmodified to be wrought into a didactic tale becomes both unnecessary and improbable. While the Atlantismythhas been recognized,with good reason, by of modernPlatonistsas a parable, no consensus has been the majority and precisepurpose.To spare a long on the reached parable's character that,in of theproblem3,we shall noteonly major contributions history of the the proper understanding the author's opinion, have facilitated moral of the story. is ethical: a small butjust city The mostobvious messageof Atlantis over a mighty aggressor.It was understoodby some ancient triumphs readersof the Timaeus and the Crtias - notably,Theopompus repeats it throughthe pictureof the Meponig yf)with its communitiesof the by many moderncommentators Mxtpocand Euaseig 4, and stressed betweenwealth and of thetwo dialogues 5. Otherdetailsof the conflict 3 Itmay T. H. as wellas from notes cited 1-2, theworks above, from be followed Lost 257ff. ; J.Breamwell, 1841), de Platon , I (Paris, surle Titne tudes Martin, 28 ff. 133(1928), ; Rhein. inBonn. Jahrb., 1937; andH. Herter, Atlantis , London, Plato1950-1957 of thebibliography 236ff. Cf. also pp.79 ff. Mus.,92 (1943/4), 4 (1959). inLustrum, comniled bvH. Cherniss, 4 FGrHist, ; G. J.D. inRhein. Mus.,48 (1893),110ff. cf.E. Rohde, 115F 75(c), relationship 27 (1978), 317ff.The politico-philosophical Aalders,in Historia, elsewhere. with willbe dealt andtheAtlantis theMeropis between 5 Seeabove, the the from however, scholars aspect list, literary earlier n. 2. To the someofthemore one; for than theparabolic more seemed ofthemyth important or politico(see e.g. Hackforth) on the otherhand,its philosophical recent, p. 298,of a cautionary ; Gill [who speaks, (seee.g.Vidal-Naquet justly philosophical - for the - andpossibly dominates function an Athenian audience"]) a protreptic tale function. ethical

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and an agrariansociety6, an engineering science modesty,a maritime and a spiritual force7,are fullyin accordance,it has been realized,with a parable of a kind to be expected fromthe writerof The Laws. Rather early, the exegesis pointed out certainfeaturesof the myth which tend to bring it nearer to Platos time and its political topics. Insteadof an abstract an enemy,Atlantishas been seen as representing and/or fourth aggressivepower belongingto the realitiesof the fifth has been agreed upon, since the identification century.No definitive of the island - intentionally, no philosopherblended in his description doubt- features characteristic of more thanone nationand landscape 8. The generalimpressionleft by Plato s Atlantis beingthatof a barbarian civilization 9, two possibilitieshave been usually envisaged for its histrica: Persia or Carthage.The partisansof the former interpretatio could cite in its favourthe inevitableparallel between the prehistoric Atheniansof the mythand the Mapadajvoxoi, besides some elements in the Atlanteanarchitecture (the walls with variegatedsurfaces,the 10 inclination forcanals n, templecoveredwithmetals) and theAtlantid both recalling Babylon and Ecbatana 12 . The case for Carthage may seem somewhat stronger : Atlantislies in the West, the Mount Atlas and the "voracious" elephants(CnY., WAe f.) point to North Africa13, while the names of Gadira and Gadirus {ib., 114 b) have clearlySemitic 6 On thecontrast between Poseidon's overAtlantis andAthena's over patronage her observations were made as early as Wilamowitz, city important ., 595("So op.cit war auch der Streit der Gtter, den derWestgiebel des Parthenon in darstellt, sinnreicher wirksam"). Umbildung 7 An element A Commentary onPlato's rightly emphasized byTaylor, Timaeus, 50 f. Oxford, 1928, 8 Plato's a complex wish tocreate ofthenegative and symbol nfo bycombining inseveral elements found historical instances makes itevidently difficult assimilating to identify theactual contexts of all his borrowings in thesubsequent ; we refer oftheproblem to those features which aretypical ofonestate, rather analysis only than andwhich, we mayassume, wereintended international, to byPlatohimself their betray origin. 9 Cf., ~ 116d (sIS tlapapixov). But cf.Plut., Crit., Odeum Per.,13,5 (the e.g., the Great a caseofimitation cited Pavilion, King's duly byGill,loc.cit., 298,n. 53). 10Cr//., 116b-d. 11Ib.. 115d ff.. 118d ff. 12Thebest inthat discussion sense isFriedlnder's 330f.; cf. J. I, 214ff., (op.cit., os ou Platon etl'Orient 33f.); according Bidez, tohisconvincing , Bruxelles, 1945, the main sources ofPlato's information onthe Eastwere Herodotus (cf. also argument, Vidal-Naouet. loc.cit..427f.)andCtesias. 13Cf.e.g.Hdt.,IV, 191.

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connotation14. Not the least, the maritime nature of Poseidon's variantof the Punic well in thatequation 15.An important kingdomfits l6. The fifthcentury Atlantis is the Sicilian one of interpretatio referred to throughthe antagonismof Athens and Syracuse,implicitly of Hermocratesinto our dialogues, certainlymakes the introduction isle of Syracuse a candidateforthe enemy of an idealized Athens,the tendto associate it withCarthage.In more so as Sicily's Punic affinities view of its geographical position and insularity,Sicily could suit admirably,and the details of the Atlanteancentral islet are strongly . , 116). No need to say that,morally,the of Ortygia(Crit reminiscent and luxurious, scientific Syracuse of the two Dionysii, imperialistic, licentious as it was, was at least an equal to the Atlantidsin their wicked phase. P. Vidal-Naquet's fine article,Athnes et l'Atlantide.Structure et d'un mythe , broughttwo remarkablenovelties platonicien signification of the mythand the myth'sconnectionwith the in the interpretation should be sought . First,itshows thatAtlantis of theTimaeus 17 thought thatit embodies only an aspect of Plato's native withinAthensherself, town. The French scholar 18duly enumeratesthe Atticor nearly-Attic of Atlas' empire: the (Cleisthenic)decimal elementsin the description and powers {Crit. division of the territory , 113 e), the ports and forts theminingof orichalcum recallingPiraeus and Munychia(ib.,117 d-f), to the silver of Laurium 19,the to allude seems which 114 e) (ib., 116 Poseidon's (ib. d-f), resembling the , temple appearance of 14Cf.Hbner, 439f. inRE, VII (1910), 15Seeonthe 4 (1952), 229ff. inArcheol. M. Pai.lotino, Class., ; matter whole e.g., 232ff. C. Corbato, ib.,5 (1953), I<s in Platonica selecta, in Eranos,17 (1919),1 ff.(cf.Atlantis, G. Rudberg. 233ff. Plato's 1966, 51 ff.) Cambridge, 1956, ; G. Ryle, Progress, Stockholm, 17Loc. cit., I Athenien, Clisthene Paris, 429ff. (cf.P. Lvque-P. Vidal-Naquet, deserve theattention havenotreceived results these they 1964,134ff.). Regrettably, cites the Theran andthe OCD 2(1970, them mention doesnot Welliver p. 143)still [e.g. hvDothesisl. 18Wholists a second ifnotrevealing, in surmising, several of hispredecessors follows identification ofAtlantis Atlantis (loc. behind 429,n. 44).TheAttic Athens cit., (cf. ofthe Timaeus-Critias Gill,loc.cit., an "historical" from rather reading naturally itindependently. reached 294,n. 29); I myself 19Orichalcum the silver ofLaurium for both a composite behere alsomay symbol, sometimes (the ancients and Hymettus of Parnassus qualified and the marble New Ancient andRelated Orichalcum . cf.E. R. Caley, Alloys, orichalcum as Xido; See Xen., Poroi, 1,4 f. 1964,16ff.). York,

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refersto the strife of Athena and Parthenon.The last item implicitly and to the of Athens' Poseidon over Attica20 , greatproblem dichotomy in its agrarianand the maritime components,which in turncoincides 21 of the Atlantids with the imperialism, wealth and insularity confronted Second, itproposesa philosophical by thevirtuousfarmers. of the the lines of the Timaeus' physics: explanation legend along Athens means there,in the Platonic terminology, whereas prehistoric itsimitation theOne, Atlantisrepresents graduallydegenerated through the agency of Otherness. Vidal-Naques comments on the philosophical side of the myth, though basically correct- for the Timaeus' physics and psychology display the well known parallelism - have remained nevertheless rather and finaldestruction imprecise.They do not explain the conflict 22 of both the protagonists of the story ; such a conflictand issue are imaginableon the level of human psychologybut not in the heavens 23. For Plato, the healthof the body 24depended on the qualityof the soul (Charm., 156 bff. ; cf. Tim., 86 b ff.),which, according to the later dialogues, depends on the harmony of the soul's intellectual and unintellectual(i.e. ambitious and passionate) parts, generally at war withone another.An analogous stateof affairs is metwithin the polis, whose preservationdemands the cohesion of its two antagonistic constituents- the two states of the Republic - 25 corresponding to the reason and appetitein a man's psyche.The Atlantids respectively of the Timaeus symbolize,to my thinking, the lower partof the social soul, the prehistoricAthenians its intellect,their clash dramatically warning of the expected end of the body (cf. Tim. 87 a f. 88 a), the disunited and unharmonious state of Plato's days. The parable ' impliesanalogies with the Timaeus physicaland individual constantly - Vidal-Naquet's interpretapsychology.Several of Plato's statements 20Cf.above, n. 6, andCrit., 109c, 113b-c. 21Referring 1, VidaltoPs.-Xen., Ath. Pol.,2, 24 ; Thuc., I, 92,5 andXen., Poroi, notesthat"une comparaison entre Naquet (loc. cit.,436, n. 79) appropriately etunelen'est nullement l'Athnes insolite". imprialiste 22Therelevant remarks ofVidai.-Naquet 443f.)arenotquite (loc.cit., apposite. 23Leg., Cf.e.g.G. M. A. Grube, Plato's 146ff. 1935, X,897bff. London, Thought, (p. 147,n. 1). 24An important matter, Leg.,Ill, 697b ; V, 728d-e. 25IV,422e ; VIII,551d-e(wealth ~ craftsmen ~ passion, cf.Barker, 5, op.cit., 289ff.). 173f.,249ff.,

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- emphasize the Sameness of the tion of themis undoubtedly justified terrestrial Athens and the influenceof the Othernesson the maritime Atlantis in her last period 2<, while the name of Leucippe, Atlas' 28 27 grandmother , reveals thatthe Atlantidoriginwas in the ambition to degrade eventuallyinto appetite.This accords not only with Plato's assertion of the Atlantids' negative change 29, but also with the evolution of his own judgment concerning the dup, the upper subdivision of the soul's unintellectualpart. Socially, the Ounis with the soldiers in the Republic and stands nearer to the identified intellect (the philosopher rulers) than to the mdurrnxov (the 30.In the Timaeus, however, it goes with the appetite, Craftsmen) just as the entire expansionism of a sea-power deserves nothing but of condemnation. According to Plato, the moral transformation and we shall tryto show froman historical Atlantis resulted process 31, to (political)ambitionreflects a course thatTimaeus' negativeattitude of historicalevents centredaround Athens (and Syracuse) of the late sixties-earlyfiftiesof the fourth century. But before closing the of the Timaeus and theAtlantis on thepsychology foregoing digression myth,we should call attentionto an additional facet of Timaeus' teachingon the natureof the soul, both individualand collective.It is clear that the soul's Othernessof the dialogue correspondswith the relative notions (a) of the deteriorating cycle in the life of a state and (Republic, VIII-IX : the regressfromtimocracydown to tyranny) that 269 c ff. : for of the universe (Statesman destruction, , heading cycle is explained by the bodily frame of the universe), and (b) of 32 democracy) or the "innecpov (politicallymatchingan imperfect determinateduality", which is, according to the Philebus, defined of the pairs of a series of opposites,such as throughthe interaction 26Loc.cit., 112b, 113e, (onCrit., 56d ; Crii.,112c-e)and436ff. 432(on Tim., intheCrtias). 117 a ; onthenumbers 27Crit., ch.3. 113d ; cf.below, 21Thewhite steed's sex ofthe soulinthe Phaedrus (253d) ; the steed ofthe change 90 d f.). life ofan "unrighteous" is a consequence (Tim., 29Crit., 121b-c.Cf.Isocr., 8, 89ff. 30IV,435c (the classes ofthe state) three ; tothe three forms ofthe soulanalogous vs. the craftsmen). rulers and the 414 b et al. (the III, guardians " Crit.,Ii a-bron notera couramment aun vocaouiaire qui aesigne remploi n. : loc. 103). cit., 440, l'imprialisme" Vidal-Naquet, 32Cf.thesimile . with the~avjonjXiov Rep.,VIII,557d.

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- ipvxpv on the physical level 33. Now, Atlantis,fleshlyand depv democratic(Cleisthenic),contrasted Athens, by the One of prehistoric mustbe analogously compositein a politicalsense. That circumstance provides, in the opinion of the present author, Plato's theoretical forthe complexity foundation of the Atlantissymbol,which unitesthe antithetical of 34,and of Athenspairs Athens-Syracuse, structurally 35 Persia and Syracuse-Carthage, antithetical ethnically . Doubtless, the more than an abstractly in a symbolis something logical construction, similarway as the whole Timaeus is mythical rather than exact 36.The constructionwas made for political purposes and from political materialwhich was topical in the middleof the 35(Ts,the approximate date of the Timaeus and the Critias for the majorityof Platonists . evidence 37 relyingon the stylometric 38 This view, unorthodoxas it is , requires a detailed analysis of a numberof allusions hidden in the two dialogues and in otherPlatonic as well as an evaluationof certainliterary writings, problemsposed by 33Theentire hasbeenably delineated loc.cit., correspondence byVidal-Naquet, 434f. 34Cf.Leg the"twomatrices ... ofconstitutions" and ., III, 693d, for (monarchy democracy). 35Cf.Rep., A class ofthe state anda part ofthe soul V, 470b-e; Politicus , 262c ff. besubdivided a component themselves offoreign II, 423a ; 443d-e); that may (Rep., could enter them (Persian is a novel into into Athens, origin Carthaginian Syracuse) which seems to havebeena product ofPlatosexperience from possibility, practical ch.2), coinciding withhis picture of the"receptacle" (below, politics presumably whose 49 ff.). elements areconstantly into oneanother Cf.Ps. Xen., (Tim., passing Ath. Poroi Pol.,2, 8 ; contrast Xen., , 2, 3 ff. "A probable tale"in Plato'sown (and frequently formulation. Its repeated) hasbeen much debated tothink, with Taylor that ; I aminclined (Plato, 442), meaning Plato"possibly himself couldnothavemadea hard-and-fast distinction between andmythical content form". philosophical 37See e.g. Taylor, 360 andprobably ("after notimmediately , 3 ff. Commentary after that date") Handkommentar zu denDialogen ; H. Gauss, Platos, Philosophischer loc.cit.,433,n. 66. Foran III, 2 (Bern, 1961),156(354B.C.); cf.Vidal-Naquet, earlier (anduntenable) G. E. L. Owen, inCl.Quart., 79 ff. 3 (1953), ; Ryle, dating, op. 238ff. cit., Ofthetwointerpretations oftheAtlantis aretheclosest whose results to myth ours,Welliver(op. cit.,41-45; cf. Gill, loc. cit.,294ff.)does not takeinto consideration the ofallusions tothe events andVidalofthe fourth possibility century, totheSocial loc.cit., War, Naquet(cf.hisreference 433,n. 66 ; 442)doesthat only thescholars dealwith Athens inthat aside the ; both connection, summarily leaving Theprejudice Plato as a cabinet a badcitizen (B. thinker, Syracusan problem. against G. Niebuhr) and an enemy of liberty and democratic Athens has (K. R. Popper), retarded the ofthe andsome Timaeus-Critias other seriously understanding dialogues.

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the Timaeus-Critias.The latter task has been done with a considerable success in the recent study by W. Welliver. To put his conclusions and omit points which remain disputableor marginal,he has briefly demonstratedone thing beyond doubt - Socrates' discrimination betweenTimaeus, a truephilosopherand statesman, and Hermocrates and Crtias, the other interlocutorsin the conversation, who are - 39and made anothervery depictedas less virtuousand more militant 40,nota torso probable thatour dialogues as preservedforman entity with the unfinished Crtias and the unwritten Hermocrates,possibly even with an unwrittenfourthpart of the alleged tetralogy4'.The of of the Crtias is only feigned, to strengthen the effect incompleteness Plato's message 42,since the parabolic purpose of the mythhas been in the Timaeus (25 c-d), of fullyachieved throughthe announcement, of the two cities,and the revelation, at the end of the finalcatastrophe the Crtias, of the event's cause, the AtlantidOpi$. The unityof the Timaeus-Critias,likelyas it is, tendsto supportour thesisthatthe fall of Atlantisforebodesthe fall of the imperialistic Athens and Syracuse c. 356-355 B.C., which makes a circumstantially propheticHermobetween crates both unnecessaryand impossible.As to the distinction Hermocratesand the othertwo, it accords well with an interpretation of the Timaeus-Critias in the light of practical politics. Such an is developed in the sequel, throughan analysis of the interpretation 39The discrimination is especially sensible at Tim.,20a, Critias' of jealousy 106c ff. Timaeus at Crit., Welliver ofCritias' ; in a fine stylistic speeches, analysis hints of harshness and greed discloses "theseveral in his nature" ., 27); (op. cit characterized Hermocrates is lessexplicitly butit is evident that he is at one with Critias. Cf. Welliver, of Critias' and Hermocrates' op. cit.,8 ff.(whosetheory Timaeus dramatic far-fetched). however, agreement against appears, 40Welliverinfers from several (op. cit.,34 f.),notunconvincingly, passages 27a-b; seefor themodern ad from discussions ofProclus' Tim., [notably testimony 20 a-b(I, p. 72 a Diehl)Rivaud, that Platopremeditated "the Tim., op. cit.,15f.], theappearance as we haveit,including Theconjecture ofincompleteness". design thattheTimaeus-Critias written as a wereoriginally (Welliver, op. cit.,58 ff.) immaterial for continuous ourdiscussion, doesnotseem work, probable. 41Forthe earlier thealleged ofa Timaeus-Critias speculations concerning project or a Timaeus-Critias-Hermocrates-Socrates see e.g. Hermocrates trilogy tetralogy 3 ff. Welliver, op.cit., 42Though 46 ff. n. 39)qualifies Welliver the Timaeus-Critias ; cf.above, (op.cit., ~ Scheria, as a tragedy, its affinities aremore marked cf. (Atlantis Vidal-Naquet, epic recalls of loc.cit. the , 426f.)anditsapparent incompleteness incompleteness apparent ofTroy is foreshadowed the thedestruction Iliad butnotnarrated (cf.infra, , where n. 176; Taylor, andCr/7.,121 Plato b-c). , 462,on theTrojan story

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of the dialogues (theirdramaticdate,theoccasion of factualframework and the choice of the characters; the images of the the conversation and of the Atlantidgenealogy royal ritualand the naturalcatastrophe) {Crit., 113 d - 114c) respectively. of the discourse of the Republic 43 2. A continuation , the discourse of the Timaeus took place at a festivalof Athena (Tim., 26 e), the Panathenaea accordingto Proclus (in Remp., I, p. 18 Kroll) who ought to be right on that point44. The year of the reunion of Socrates, Timaeus of Locri, the Syracusan general45Hermocratesand Crtiasunnamed the fourdramatispersonae of the Timaeus, whom the fifth, 17 a)have but for illness (Tim., would of Socrates accompanied guest of is uncertainand widely disputed,togetherwith the identification ? - 46,but A. E. or his homonymous grandfather Critias- the tyrant Taylor's argumentsfor a date very shortlybeforethe peace of Nicias (421 B.C.) seem cogent forseveral reasons 47. 43Cf. Tim.,17c-19b. It has beensometimes this that doubted, unnecessarily, IIofa part a recapitulation the Books V) ofthe Republic (principally represents passage the between (seee.g.Rivaud, ., 230ff.) ; the ., 19ff. ; Ryle, discrepancies op.cit op.cit areduetothe a typical ofPlatonic andthe earlier licence, dialogue, example summary aims(thence between c. 370 andc. 355,thephilosopher's which modified, changes inthe difficulties dealt with inthe andthe next i.a. the note, occurrence, chronological See alsoGill, loc.cit., 287f.,n. 6. Timaeus , ofthenewinterlocutors). 44As thePanathenaea latein and theLesser werecelebrated theGreat (both andtheBendidea occasion oftheconversation the ( 19th Hecatombaeon) Thargelion), the samemonth, fall within the (I, 327a, 354a), didnot bythe reproduced Republic the atTim., 17a, 26e areinexact do notauthorize indications but they chronological other festival 26 e alludes to "some conclusion , 45)that 77m., (Taylor, Commentary and is intentional withAthena, The incongruity connected e.g. thePlyntheria". - both - in Plato's values (see since text thefestivals havetheir symbolic emphatic, below). 45Procl.,ad Tim., 20a (I, p. 71e Diehl). 46Fora discussion 23 ff. ofthealternatives seeTaylor, ; Welliver, Commentary, are relevant in theTimaeus-Critias indications contained op. cit.,50 ff.Though was contradiction anachronisms the [Plato's being generally meaningful, contradictory 43 f.)andintended the (cf. deliberate notes tounderline (cf. above, modernity probably it andfellow of"Critias"], 27b, on the"Athenians ofthecharacter citizens") Tim., i.a. by the must be thetyrant (cf.Vidal-Naquet, loc. cit.,420, n. 3), as shown with the latedramatic dateofthetwodialogues be contrasted [itshould relatively in the c. 540B.C.?) contained on thetyrant's before (born grandfather testimony schol. Aesch., Prom., 128]. 47Taylor, and Plato,436ff.(263f.): notethe data on the age of Socrates of the and the indications thatthe politico-chronological context Hermocrates, is roughly andtheTimaeus thesame. Republic

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the reference to theRepublic has a manifoldsignificance Politically, on the corresponding, philosophicallevel, to Plato's cyclic conception Atheniandemocracy, inter alia , of history. The greatdialogue criticizes for its tendency to deterioratetoward a despotic rgime embodied (Plato implies) in the demagogue Callistratus of Aphidna48. The candidatefortyrant begins his evil career with a politicaltrialagainst his main opponent{Rep., VIII, 565 c ff.),a transparent allusion to the cause clbre of 373, through which Callistratus temporarily eliminatedTimotheus,the leader of an aristocratically group, patriotic in Athenian who was at the same time Plato's relativeand protector affairs49. After the eclipse of Callistratus and his "moderates" (361 B.C.), Timotheus' party was gradually faced with another opposition,thatof Aristophon'sand Chares' radicals. Aggressiveand towardsTimotheus' diplomaticconceptionof the manageill-disposed ment of the Second Maritime League, the latterprovoked the Social War and eventually impeached Timotheus for failingto co-operate with Chares at Embata 50.The affair (winter356/5 ?) 51 , whih clearly a pendant of that occurringin 373, ended in Timotheus' represented exile (died in Chalcis, 354 B.C.). Now, there seem to be voluntary in the Timaeus-Critias references to the trialof 356/5 several indirect or its immediate context. Critias, the notorious prosecutor of Theramenes52,is fond of the judicial terminology (Tim.,27b; Crit. , 108 a-b) and, to quote W. Welliver's formulation tries "to gain a Locrian 54 forensic advantage"over Timaeus. The name of thefictitious 48S. Duanic, de371av.J.-C., athnienne L 'Acadmie dePlaton etla koin eiren 342ff. inRG , 92 (1979), 49Together atChios in 357): FGrHist with Chabrias (whofell , 328F 223. 50Iphicrates wasprosecuted on Menestheus with hisson(Timotheus' son-in-law) case was less important but their and on the samecharge, thesameoccasion politically. 51Forthe inREG,68 R. Sealey, 357-355 see(e.g.) ofthe eventful years chronology . 114 ff (1955), 52Cf.Friedlnder, dass er(Piaton) sein Zufall auch kein III,357: "Eskann op.cit., die in den ... zwei Mnner and Hermokrates), whlte als Hauptsprecher (Critias beiden Heimatstdte denTodfanden". ihrer Brgerkriegen 53Op.cit 107ff.). ., 25 (onCr/7., * 54Timaeus in RE, VI, A (1936), is evidently an unhistorical IR. Harder, figure atthe ofDion.Be itnoted with some features 1204; cf.Rivaud, that, op.cit.,17f.), trial Dionwas also threatened (Plut.,Dion sametime , bya public approximately, 53,2).

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55 may be explained as a hypocoristiconof TiyOeo ; if the former as a pair of positiveand negativeheroes from withHermocrates figures West Greece, the positivecounterpart of the AthenianCrtiasis absent, an absence which could have been easily understoodmetaphorically ' the illness of the Timaeus unnamed dramatis persona is political, 56 analogous to the politicalmurderspoken of in the Republic ? - and 57 broughtinto connectionwith Timotheus' statusafterEmbata . What is more,the main subjectof the trialof 356/5, the Athenianattitude to the allies, is also the main subjectof theCrtias, just as it figures among in the major themesof boththetrialof 373 and Plato's own comments, on the Athenian foreignpolicy of 373 and the Republic primarily, 37 1 58. in The relevanceof the Timaeus-Critiasto theproblem,culminating the eventsof 357-355, of the Athenians'relationsto theirLeague and the Greek world in general,is manifest. Socrates tells us thatthe two whose date of is placed c. 356dialogues composition,to reiterate, 355 should deal with a struggle between Athensand her neighbours endingin a "becomingmanner"( Tim., 19 c, cf. 20 b) ; the moral of the Atlantis story patentlycondemns the aggressivenessof "the empire which had rule over the whole (Atlantean)island and several others" ( Tim ., 25 a)59 ; the personage of Hermocrates recalls the Athenians failurenot only in Sicily but also in the Ionian War, a prfiguration of

55Seee.g.A. Fick-F. Diegriechischen Personennamen 1894, 2,Gttingen, Bechtel, in an ofhisRepublic) 266.ThenameofEr was constructed (in themyth byPlato n. 48]. cf.thearticle cited manner ( = Orontes), above, [ < Erpand analogous 56VIII, 565e, 566b-c; X, 615c (on thepolitical and "fratricide" of "parricide" = Callistratus note inthearticle seemycomments Ardiaeus 48). above, 57For previous fifth at identifying the anonymous (Philebus, Plato, attempts ad Tim.,17a (I, or evenPericles), see Proclus, Theaetetus, Philolaus, Cleitophon, of 44.Thecross Diehl) ; Rivaud, blending op.cit.,18f.; Welliver, op.cit., p. 18ff. and that of theunnamed of Timaeus and Dion in thevirtuous Timotheus figure ofAthens andSyracuse intheAtlantis absentee, symbol, bytheblending parallelled andplurality formula ofthe ofman Plato's (asgiven follows e.g.inthe unity obviously Sophist). 58On that 48. seethepaper tosupra ofthe referred , note aspect Republic 59"... and overparts theAegean to Attica, of thecontinent (ib.),a reference The lastpoint andtheAsiatic coasts andtheThracian (cf.ib.,25 a 1 ff.). Polynesia such but allude alsotolater ofthe Delian would bereminiscent attempts, League may the ofAthenian tothe soilofwestern tostretch influence as Chares' of356/5, sphere AsiaMinor.

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the Social War 60. Even the choice of Timaeus' (fictitious) domicile seems to have been tendentious in that connection61 since Plato mentionsin the Laws (I, 638 b), as typicalexamples of international the subjectionof Ceos by Athens (363/2 B.C.) and of Locri brutality, incidentmakes one thinkof by Syracuse(late in the 360 s). The former the fatalconflict of Athenswith her allies in 357 62, illustrates the latter the expansionismof the corruptSyracuse, which the Platonic letters criticizemore than once 63 . Thus the parallellismof aggressiveAthens and aggressive Syracuse appears to be complete at the time of the thatexplains both the , a circumstance writingof the Timaeus-Critias combination of the Athenian and the Syracusan elements in the Atlantisparable, and Plato's position in the partyconstellation of the two cities: Locri had suffered fromDionysius II (who was to ill-treat the Locrians once again, afterhis expulsion fromSyracuse in 356, a disasterpredictableas early as 356/5), and Ceos fromAristophon, the head of the radicals and Timotheus' prosecutorafterEmbata 64. No wonder thatthe Timaeus-Critiasplead fora peacefulsolution65of the 66 Greek conflicts presentin about 356/5, along the line of Timotheus' 60Cf.IsocR., antiAthenian intheWest andthe 8, 30.- On Hermocrates' activity EastseeTh.Lenschau, inRE,VIII(1912) 883ff. the ofthe disasters of (cf. comparison 413and409atTheag. K. Hilderbrandt's 129c f.). as an ofHermocrates qualification ofDion{Piaton, Der Kampf des Geistes umdieMacht 1933,374) , Berlin, allegory means a drastic ofPlato's Athenian misunderstanding patriotism. 01Itis usually ascribed toPlato s intention torepresent Timaeus as a Pythagorean from Graecia Plato n. 1)but, (cf.Taylor, theproblem ofTimaeus' , 436with Magna itisevident from the ofthe that the mention Pythagoreanism apart, wording dialogue ofthe Locrian ofTimaeus hada political 18 ; note the (Rivaud, origin purpose op.cit., oftheLocrian constitution atLeg.,I, 638b). praise 62The moreso as thedefection of Ceos in 363/2led to theconfrontation of Chabrias andAristophon, thedefection ofRhodes, andCos in 357 Chios, Byzantium to thatof Timotheus and Aristophon. For Plato'srelations withChabrias and n.49. Timotheus, above, 63E.g.,VII, 332e ff., 334c, 336d ff. ; VIII, 357a-b. 64Seefor Locri andDionysius a [Leg., tothe Pol.,1307 I, 638b refer (e.g.)Arist., ofa Locrian rebellion thetyrant, nottohissubsequent misdeeds suppression against there inRE, XIII (1926), {contra, Friedlnder, III, 513,n. 86),Oldfather, op.cit., 1335; H. Berve, Die Tyrannis beidenGriechen 662f.], for Ceos , II (Mnchen, 1967), andAristophon M. N. Tod,GHI,II, 142; schol. Aeschin., 1,64. 65Implicitly moral ofthe whole dramatic date close toNicias' [the ; the myth peace; thelink with the which defends thePan-hellenism andtheAthenian koine Republic, of371; cf.Tim., eirene 19c (the allude totheembassy ofin logoi probably spoken Isocrates from 112d quoted Crit. n. 66]butfirmly. 8, 25)andthephrase infra, Timotheus (forwhosecustomary of thealliessee Isocr.,15, regardfulness 121ff.) must havepostponed hisoperations around Chios in order not to hinder the

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and Dion's practical policy. The same attitudewas taken by other in thatcriticalsituation, traditionalists notablyby Isocrates,the intimate . friend of Timotheus,in his "On the Peace1' and the "Areopagiticus"67 It may be finally surmisedthatthe unityof thevirtuousAtheniansand on the other, Syracusanson one thehand, and of theirevil counterparts from Plato's formula of the does not follow only philosophical interrelation of "the one" and "the many" or from his theoretical of the Athenian and Syracusan role in foreignaffairs comparison c. 356/5 B.C., but also from the actual collaboration between the circles of Dion and Timotheus,and between those of theirSyracusan 68 . In all probability, the and Athenian radical opponents respectively the Sicilian and Timotheus success of cause of Dion Plato, complete would help to create,interalia, an effective policy of Attico-Syracusan 69 Athenian mutual support , while the reverse would encourage anti70 and, possibly, anti-Syracusan feelings in feelings at Syracuse . Plato alone, however, could not have accomplished Athens71 ; his influenceupon the political events seems to have been anything insufficient (cf. /?., 7, 318 c), like (in Proclus' parallel) Socrates' of capacity puttinghis stateinto an historicalprocess (Tim., 19 b ff.).

with atAthens the rebels the doubts of (seethe note) ; as tothat, negotiations previous P. Cloch{La politique d'Athnes de 404 338 avant Jsus-Christ , Paris, trangre Dion was disposed thetyranny of 1934,161) are unjustified. Similarly, against overSicily 335e ff. Note 7, 332e ff. ; Plut.,Dion,29, 1,andpass.). Syracuse (/?., ... atonceguardians Athenian Crit and fellow citizens oftheir ., 112d : "(the hoplites) leaders oftheHellenes atlarge" followed (cf.Isocr., 8, 30). freely 67Forsome ofcoincidental reactions ofPlato, andXenophon Isocrates to examples crisis seeournotes the of357-355 and 21,29,60,66,71,85,87,88,92,109,160,164, theendofch.2 (onXen., Poroi, 5, 8-10). 68Though not attested seethe next (but note onEphippus' the expressly Geryones), between Timotheus' existence ofcontacts andDion's is very inview groups probable, ofseveral inDemosthenes' hints contained with in (dealt (20)against speech Leptines ofmine). That Dion's another murderer alsohadanAthenian paper Callippus backing tojudgefrom Timotheus' connection (andhisfather's) enemies, [among Callippus' with J.K. Davies, Athenian 1971, 274f.] Callistratus, Families, Oxford, Propertied may be inferred from Plut.,Dion , 58, 1,and/?., 7, 334b,c,336d. an antecedent, as I havetried to demonstrate it 366/5B.C. was probably elsewhere (on Ephippus' XII-XIII 5, Kock, II, p. 252f.),Talanta, (1982),18-20. frg. See alsobelow, theparallel Himera-Salamis. for U. e.g.Plut.,Dion , 14,2 ; tp., /,334b, 336d. 71Which areindirectly criticized 8, 84 f.? Cf.Plut.,Nic.,13,6 ; 14,6 ; byIsocr., Ps.-Plat., ., 392b-c. Eryx

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relations withthetheme The themeof Attico-Syracusan corresponds of the external menace. As we have seen, the fusion of a corrupt Athens with Persia, and of a corrupt Syracuse with Carthage, is possible, even necessary,in the Platonic formulaof the indeterminate Athens dyad. The characterof Hermocrates,who was ready to fight with Persian aid 72,and the referenceof the Timaeus-Critiasto the of two kinds of Athenians Republic, where the respectivesimilarity with theirPersian correlatesserves as the basic motifof the mythof Er 73 , show that the occurrence of the Persian and Carthaginian of Atlantisis not accidental.A joint action elementsin the description and the Great King againstSyracuse,Athensand of the Carthaginians the Pan-helleniccause was held a real danger, by the Isocrateans at least, to the point of creatingEphorus" famous parallel between the battlesof Himera and Salamis 74. During the firsthalf of the fourth into it seemed thatthe same polarisationmay have penetrated century : Dionysius theElder or his son replaceCarthage theGreekworld itself in thatparallel between the easternand westernenemies of hellenism 75 .A on the thenpoliticalsituation as drawn by several commentators further step would find an adversary to the Pan-hellenic interests withinthe polis, compositein a way comparableto the compositeness considerations of theindividualpsyche.Not only did Plato's theoretical was lead to such a conclusion76, it suggestedby his own political to look at thepoliticalrelities experience.Again, one findsit instructive of the middle of the 350's. In Syracuse, Dion's opponents in party affairs and constitutional reforms, especiallythe radicals,were readyto - or at least search for Carthaginiansupport in their illegal activity 77 Plato used to insinuate their treacherous intentions . In Athens, Aristophonwith Chares defended,against Timotheus, an aggressive anti-Persianattitudewhich objectivelyrallied the Great King to the

12Above, Hell. n.60.Even Critias wassomething ofa traitor (cf. , II, 3,36f.). Xen., 73Above, notes 48, 55. 74FGrHist, 94 5 ff. 70F 186,cf.Ph.Gauthier, RA BGH, ; Y. Garlan, , 68( 1966), 630ff. (1970), II : I : Lys., 4, 126,169; Diod.,XV,23,5. Dionysius 3, 5 ; 8 ; Isocr., Dionysius loc.cit. FGrHist , 70F 211. Cf.Garlan, 76Cf.Rep.,VIII, 556e (on "theimpulse an unhealthy from outside" diseasing ofanantagonist"). imitation (on"the state) ; Leg., IV,704c,705a, 705c ff. pernicious 77Ep.,7, 349c (Heraclides).

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rebellious allies and the Athenian enemies in the Aegean at large 78 . The radical line in both the places was detrimental to Plato's friends, the interests of the local population, Pan-hellenismand the unityof State which is "an ultimatepostulateof (Platonic) knowledge" 79 . There is an impressiveimage in the Critias, enigmaticalso far80, which also seems to hintat the complex of Athenianproblemscentred around Persia and Athens' hegemonyin the Greek world. The gloomy ritual of the royal oath and sacrifice described at 119 d-120 c has distrinct with the Athenian feasts,especially with the Great affinity the feastof the imperialistic Panathenaea, League, as the Panathenaic occasion of our dialogues and Plato's reference to thepenteteric interval 81 separatingtwo such rituals immediatelyreveal to the reader. Its thetenkingsof Atlantis, act as theAthenianstrategi in the protagonists, disguise of priests,which accords well with the importanceof the strategiin the actual festivals of Athena82. A number of details 83 84and the carnivorous underlinestheircruelty , deceitfulintentions 78Diod.,XVI, 22, 2 ; Demosth., as Timotheus' 2, 28 f. [whopleads, partisan, for (XIV: 354B.C.), relations (XX,60 ; 68 : 355B.C.)andexplicitly implicitly peaceful with whohadmore than onepoint etc.Thechoice ofCritias, ofresemblance Susa], withAristophon-Chares, of the war between forthe raconteur the prehistoric Athenians andAtlantis ( ~ Darius' contains a critical, ( ~ Miltiades' Persia) generation) even ironical of 356/5,especially his boastful allusionto Chares'operations . with Marathon ofhisvictory Arai (Plut., ., 16,3),seeinfra comparison 79Barker, between theGreeks andthe op. cit.,218,405. Thattherelationship barbarians had its place in Plato'slogicaldivisions to the definition of leading is shown Politicus , 262d. e.g.bythe statemanship 80It hasbeenpopular intheEast; for some tosearch for itsorigin references see inLustrum la plus ("lapartie Cherniss, , 4, 81, 83.Cf.Rivaud, ., 244ff. op.cit peut-tre duCritias"). Seealsobelow, notes Platon etAthnes 95, 105; Duani, ...,in trange 31 (1981),150ff. ivaAntika 81Cr/7., ofsixyears 119d ; thealternate interval offive andsix (thealternation andodd")is lesseasyto interpret. showshere for evennumbers It "equalrespect eachother atthe alludes tothe ofthirty-six and succeeding periods possibly prytanies the ofPlato's calendrical iAth. ideas Pol.,43); for thirty-five bearing days respectively onthe criticism seeM. Pirart, ofthe Cleisthenic Platon etla Cit decimality grecque, Bruxelles, 1973,102f.,67 f. 82Cf.Demosth., Griechische Staatskunde 4, 26.SeealsoG. Busolt-H. Swoboda, ' II (Mnchen n.6. 1126f.with 1926), 83Contrast who "offer no animalin Leg., VI, 782c (on the piouspeoples sacrifice"). inL 'Acropole 8 f., Rivaud, 245,andCh.Picard, , 8 (1933), op.cit., appropriately 83 cite to the ofCrit 15 and Hdt.,Ill, Aristoph., ., 120a-b(the decipher purpose Eq., of thebull'sblood).An analogous behind the drinking tendency maybe sought

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natureof theirstate85.Obviously, in Plato's opinion, all this resulted of the Athenaea to the Panathenaea 86, from gradual transformation which meant also a Theseia and Poseidonia of some sort87 , a itself. with the of the deterioration transformation city going together the kinglysons of Two elementsof the ritualseem prominent. Firstly, not only of Athena's citybut of the rulingstructure Poseidon represent the Maritime League as a whole - thence they pass judgments and deliberate,as allies, "on their common affairs",giving "the chief command to the house of Atlas" i.e. Athens(OzY., 119 d, 120 c-d) -, a natural extension88 in view of (e.g.) the dominant role of the Hellenotamiae within the fifthcentury confederation,and of the 89.The Great withinthatof both the fifth and fourth century strategi Panathenaea are of course the most natural context of these - the feastcoincidingwith the reassessment of the cppo deliberations 90 as well as of the sacrificeof the in the time of the Delian League ofDeception" 21b),the"Feast reference totheApatouria (Welliver, {Tim., op.cit., 14f..20 f.). 85Thecontrast atCrit. 120b andthe ofthe of mention the between praise banquet Chares hasalsoitspolitical (schol. atLeg.,VI, 782c-d, against points, vegetarianism 72e f.; Isocr., (cf.Tim., 7, 7, 10)andpopular Demosth., 3, 31 ; cf.Isocr., gluttony Philothebaios tothose 29),analogous against Aristophon byAntiphanes' putforward Greek Studies inLater Manchester, 1953, (seeT. B. L. Webster, (?)c. 363/2 Comedy, 39f.). 86ThatPlatohadlittle also from thePanathenaea for maybe concluded respect 6 c. 11).Cf.Euthyphr., ofa work (frg. dayofthephilosopher description Epicrates' 87A process too (7, 29 f., 52 f.). For the condemned by Isocrates generally to the (cf. Plut., Thes due to Theseus ., 24, 3 f.),of the Athenaea evolution, thePoseidonic XIII (1973),1213f.,for inRE, Supplb. Panathenaea see R. Herter, andpartly ofthePanathenaea celebration elements traceable in theactual resulting ofthe cow; the bull instead sacrifice ofthe from fifth innovations (the iXXa century tothe the seeL. for etc.) ofa ship vEv ; theuseofthemast goddess, bringing peplos 116c : thesanctuary of 471ff., 485f.,461 [cf. in RE, XVIII (1949), Cr/7., Ziehen, with the (cf. correlates Cleito andPoseidon Parthenon) ( ~ the Hephaesteon negatively andHephaestus)]. lotofAthena on thecommon ib.,109c-d, 88Isocrates virtual lords ofthe as being the Second ofthe (8, 134)toospeaks strategi inthe members' ofthe the solemnly given autonomy, guarantees Confederacy, despite Charter oftheLeague (H. Bengtson, II2,no.257,1,19ff.). Staatsvertrge, 89Ofthecompetences to in which ofthefourth-century maybe alluded strategi as andfiscal note the oneshould ofthe thecorresponding Critias, judicial paragraph II2, no.289, in thecase of Ceos in 363/2(Bengtson, Staatsvertrge, important Plato for 1.57 ff. : notan ordinary buta portentous occasion, impressive especially n.64]andotherwise). [supra, 90R. Meiggs-D. Ath. Pol.,3, 5 (seealsoR. ; cf.Ps.-Xen., GHI,69,1.26 ff. Lewis, date ofthe Timaeus, 240).Thedramatic The Athenian , Oxford, 1972, Meiggs, Empire

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bull, which symbolizesthroughthe offerings of the allies the unityof 91 . Also, theoccurrenceof a steleof orichalcumwhose theorganization textcontainsthe laws of the Atlantid xotvv and "an oath calling down grievous curses on the disobedient" (Crit ., 119c,e) must point 92 which primarly to the Charterof the Second AthenianConfederacy, has an importantprovision against the attemptsat destroyingthe 93 itsconstitution . A reform of the fourth League or subverting century confederation,which became for Plato and his followers highly desirable c. 356-355, was bound to stumble upon these "laws". Secondly, the descriptionof the royal sacrificeprovides an implicite criticismof some tendenciescharacteristic of the internalpolitics of Athens,conceringthe Athenianephebia in the first place. Several traits of the image Crit., 119 d - 120 c - the dark robes of the kings,their on thebare earth,and by night" sitting "by theembersof theirsacrifice, (120 c) - show that we are dealing with a rite froma hero-cult94. A the meaningof which has notbeen recognized95 significant particular, , linksitto Theseus : the bull was chased by theaid of wooden clubs and lassoos (1 19 e), in thesame way as the famousMarathoniansteer96.To have Theseus here conforms with the negative evolution of the Athenaea already mentioned, and with Plato's condemnation of maritime Athens, among whose creators Theseus and Theseus" 97 successor Cimon certainly belong . Similarly,an act of the hero-cult may have been associated with the festivalof the Panathenaea which

Nicias'peace of April, on the Great 421, may have fallen shortly antedating Panathenaea of422(August), which sawa newassessment (cf.Meiggs, probably op. cit ., 340f.). 91E.g. Meiggs-Lewis, GHI La legaateniese (425/4 B.C.); S. Accame, , 69,1.55 ff. delsecolo IV a.C., Roma,1941, (372B.C.).Cf.Meiggs, 304f. p. 230,1.2 ff. op.cit., One shouldreckon withother the too,a general messages protest against democratic andanallusion tothe (cf. Oath ofPlataea Isocr., 7,39 ff.) (see vcjv TikrjOr] below). ~ Bengtson, (1.52 f.: 77 , II2,no.208,1.51 ff. Staatsvertrge apxojv rSlojt] Crit. t texai ixaov). , 120c : Scxov loc.cit.,8. Cf.Eurem, inRE, VIII (1912)1123ff. for somepoints Picard, of contact with theactual rituals oftheGreek hero-cult. Thearticle inBphW cited with in , 1907, 1060, byStengel, approval byZiehen, RE, XVIII,492,hasremained inaccessible to me. 96Herter, loc.cit.,1086. 97Cf.Crit., 110a ; Rep.,Ill, 391c ; Leg.,IV, 706b-c(Theseus) andGorg ., 519a (Cimon).

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. But the ritual has a seems to have included the praise of the dead 98 more precise connotation.Theseus, the tribaleponymous heroes and the Athenian ephebi - the decimal division of their organization - 99form correspondswiththe decimal devisionof Atlantis completely a well-known entity, expressed inter alia through the ephebic in many ritesconsecratedto Theseus and the Athenian participation The ephebo-Theseanaspect of the image also explainsthree heroes 10. of its characteristic the method of details,the colour of the robes 101, the kings' commubringingthe victim to the place of sacrifice102, nion 103 to theApa, and throwsan additionallighton Critias'reference touria 104.Furthermore,it gives a clue to identifying the second withthe "oath" componentof the stele-of-laws symbol.The inscription and the "grievous curses" 105 cannot represent of only the inscription the Charter of the Second Confederacy. It must obviously be understoodas a complex notionconstituted fromboth the Charterand thetextof theoathsof theephebi and of theAtheniansbeforePlataea, a It textwhich, as everybodyknows, containsrathersuggestive pa 106. 98Ziehen, inthe Timaeus andCrtias (21a, 26 e), RE, XVIII,483.Socrates remark, andthfamous of tothePanathenaea, that willbe appropriate Crtias' speech story ofthe Panathenaicus. thename bears Isocrates with Athens' history dealing 99In that theazc xal zjcp'aro (Crii.,120b) seems yvec especially respect 1.25). inthePlataean ofthezatjiapxo Oath, (cf. interesting e.g.themention 100 The author's Ch. Plkidis, de lephebie Histoire 1962,225ff. , Paris, attique andtheEpitaphia arenotwholly theTheseia between doubts as to thereltionship loc.cit. (cf. , 1124). justified e.g.Herter, 101 andthe black death 15f.(Aegeus' Cf.Plkidis, ; the chlamydes ephebic op.cit., Av., 1488 120dl,cf.e.g.Aristoph., toheroes ff.). latter hadtobe dedicated [Crit. 102 ~ Cr/7., 119e 2 f.). zo 5 (the Cf.ib.,223f., ovg rpavzo p. 223,note especially 103 oftheOschophoriaj. 120b) ~ (pilr Cf.ib.,227[xpazijp (Crit. IU4 loc. cit.,lUSJ and theApatouna, Theseus On thelinkbetween Herter, ; is self-evident andtheephebia theApatouria 67 f.; that between Plkidis, op.cit., in Proc.Camb.Philol. Soc., 194(1968),49 ff. ; Plkidis, (Vidal-Naquet, op. cit., 63 ff.). 105 loc.cit. Whose valuehasbeen , ina acknowledged byPicard, rightly emphatic article onthe ofwriting atthe time which I didnot know my Cyrenean pxcov paper toseePlato's wasinclined source for Picard 8 (1978, 55 ff.)]. zojv [inChiron, olxL<7ZT)pojv seems tohave text (which intheCyrenean the inthe Critias arai mentioned actually derivation that ofhis andthough been c. 362B.C.,byPlatonic precise theory) inspired, ofthe ofthe the merit ofbringing cannot beexact, ithasthe corresponding part study theoreticians and ofthe laboratories near tothemid-fourth political century dialogue for gers. 106 6 f.). L. 39ff. (P. Siewert, DerEid von 1972, Plataiai, Mnchen,

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is not the place here to discuss the difficult question of the authenticity their elements some of of these last oaths are, no doubt,early if not 107 - but M. Guarduccs thesis postulating a political genuine 108 best suits our own conclusions drawn fabrication published c. 356 fromthe Critias ; the purpose of Plato's allusion to the textwhich we now read on the stele from Acharnae implies a topic roughly contemporaryto, or at least politically importantat, the date of composition of the two dialogues. There was more than one circumstance bringing together the Charter and the epigraphic of theAcharnae stele.Both inauguratemilitant organisms109, prototype aims unacceptableto the pacifists withdefinite of the 350,s (theCharter the stele anti-Persian and anti-Theban)and being anti-Lacedaemonian, 110 with stressupon the disputableideal of liberty ; this last recalls the in the fourth covenantof Plataea, historicalor constructed century1U, whose content was conducive to the First and subsequentlyto the Second MaritimeLeague. On the materiallevel, it should be notedthat the Charter was set, understandably 112,beside the statue of Zeus Eleutherios (1. 64-66), in a place which connotes Thesean, ephebic, themes anti-Thebanand heroic (in the sense of the cult of the dead) 113 107 Cf.P. SiFWFRT. inJHS.97 (1977).102ff. 108 andThemistocles, Miltiades' decrees, M. Guarducci 62 ff. RFIC, 39(1961), puts of357-355, furore ofthe"rinovato inthe andthe Plataean Oath, antipersiano" period comments to theTimaeus-Critias without ; she appropriately uponthe referring From lineinthat the toChares' oftheMarathonian relevance epoch. political symbol and M. of R. Etienne consent citethevirtual I should abundant later production, with andimportant an exhaustive 63 ff., discussion, Pirart bibl.]. , 90 (1975), [BCH 109 andtheEpitaphia, human losses with Isocr., 8, Themilitarism together going 87 ; Plut.,Mor ., 187e (Hegesippus). 110 ForPlato's attitude to 1.24 oftheAcharnae L. 10 oftheCharter, inscription. (i.a. itis uneducational classicus seethelocus VIII,561b ff. , inRep., popular liberty than theephebi, cf. in theLaws are lesssoldiers and warlike ; Plato's agoranomi 275). Pirart, op.cit., 1 1 1 Plut. andthe cult ofZeusEleutherios inthe atPlataea, ,21, 1 f.(resulting, ,Arist. to authenticity) and favourable cf.e.g. Meiggs, dead), op. cit.,507f.(conditionally for character). loc.cit.(arguing tienne-Pirart, apocryphal 112 64 f.). n. 110(andAccame, Cf.above, op.cit., 113 in one partof theStoa(Paus.,I, 3, 3 if.; : Euphranor's Thesean painting and anti-Theban : thepicture's and Demosreveal message). Ephebic Democracy atMantinea, thehero loc.cit.: Grylus, intheother [Paus., part painting Euphranor's inRE,IX,A, 1967,1576f.)like H. R. Breitenbach, ideal anephebic (cf. sotosay, and, idea of whichhas thegeneral of theportico, Theseus ; the decoration himself] 362andmarking the the was made remained rather obscure, following during years

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of the Acharnae monumentand the ritualdescribedat Crit., 119 d 120 c. One could even venture the assumption that the epigrahic of the Acharnae stele was also exhibited, c. 356 B.C., in the prototype (cf. Isocr., 7, 41 : azo) 114. porticoof Zeus Eleutheriosor thereabout The anti-Theban tendencies current c. 356 B.C. and provoking Plato's director indirectreferences Theseus 116, to the Apatouria 115, and the Plataean oath 117 feature of our another explain outstanding dialogues. Aggressiveas well as unfavourableto the cause of the Panhellenism,such tendencieswere a priori bound to be dislikedby the philosopher,who had had several friends among the learnedThebans (Simmias and Cebes notably)118. Timotheus, too, passed for a and his political line led between the Boeotophile or nearly so 119, characteristic of the moderates,and the extreme to Thebes, hostility for that democratical centre, characteristicof the great sympathy 120 radicals . Now, the Boeotian problembecame acute on the eve of the Sacred War, when Athens decided to side with Phocis against the ofgold", Crit rise oftheradicals. Thedead: Paus., ., I, 26,2 ; X, 21,5 f.(the"plate the 120c, probably here) ; Euphranor's mayhavealsorepresented pictures belongs tribal inRE, VI (1907),1193]. [K.Robert, eponymi 114 toPlato (Theag waswell-known the ., 121a,Eryx ., 392a ; both Naturally, place An additional noteon the of 415-413). the dialogues refer to the catastrophe thestele of : Plato is needed oftheritual {Crit. it,with , 119c) situates topography of the island" in thecenter "in the sanctuary of Poseidon [if his orichalcum, we haveto remind ourselves with theParthenon, Poseidonion is equated evenhere ofthePanathenaic therepresentation that refers thefrieze oftheParthenon through inRE, XVIII,457, heroes the Procession toTheseus' (Ziehen, eponymous synoecism, Fourth The (O. W. Reinmuth, 464)andthe ofthe Inscriptions Ephebic cavalry ephebic coincidence between the beaninteresting 1971, 137 ; there B.C., Leiden, may Century loc. inthe mention ofthe warchariots Critias Herter, , 119a, andthe anoTojv yjv, in Euripides' at thebattle theformer cit.,1228, Suppliants)], mayalsohint though heart of ofthe Theseion which tothe Thes., 36,4 : "inthe (Plut., corresponds position thecity") ifnotoftheportico ofZeusEleutherios. 115 ~ ~ black) a Boeotian killed (Xanthus an Athenian Thedaywhen (Melanthus n. a trick 84). white) (above, by 116 rolein Euripides' Above, n. 113: cf.Theseus' Suppliants. 117 could Oath have been 1.32 f.According toPlutarch, Cf.its Ale.,15,the Ephebic andThirty in Critias' with associated thecontinental [which, Tyrants' expansionism ofcourse]. version (cf.Plut.,Them., 19,4),was no ideal, 118 andOropia butnotfurther to over rules Athens Notethat Megaris prehistoric theWest 110 d-e). {Crit. 119 94. Historia Cf.e.g.G. L. Cawkwell, 12,1963, 120 of in 355,taken attitude neutral Foran analogously probably by a partisan seeDemosth., 20, 108ff. Timotheus,

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Thebans (356 B.C.) 12!.As Xenophon openly confessesin his Poroi (5, 8-10), the pacifists- with Plato, no doubt - thoughtthat for the Atheniansa position of neutrality disposed to a peaceful Pan-hellenic of the conflict(under Athenian guidance) was the best settlement Pious men solution,fromboth the politicaland religiousstandpoint. and Plato, with his respect for Delphi, was certainlyamong them could approve neitherthe Phocian sacrilege nor the Theban political manipulationof the Amphictionyand sacred mattersin general m. Naturallyenough, the dramaticeventsconcerningthe oracle gave rise to many discussions on the reality of divine retribution ; these to anothercatastrophe discussions,accordingto Diodorus, used to refer (an earthquake followed by tidal waves) which some years before (373 B.C.) befell Delphi 123with two cities of Achaea, Helice and Bura 124.The case of 373, which was to be feared as a possible was also connectedto a politicalaction in which precedentin 356 125, 126. The studentsof the Plato seems to have been personallyinterested Diodorus two allowed, says, explanations,citingeither phenomenon determined "natural circumstances by necessary causes" (natural scientists)or "the anger of gods" (religious people) ; Plato certainly 127 believed in the latteralternative but, because of the importanceof in held it advisableto of the and problem sacrilege about 356 128, Delphi clear up the theoretical foundations of the matter through the theological physics of the Timaeus 129.At least two names in the the apologeticpurpose of the dialogues : Critias Timaeus-Critiasreflect 121 cf. hadits no.310.Thedecision , II2, Syll.' Bengtson, prehistory, Staatsvertrge 175. 122 ofthefalse a criticism for Cf.Rep ., II, 364b ff., religiosity. 123 which seems inRA J.Pouilloux, 300,n. 1. Itwasthat , 64(1962), catastrophe I toanAthenian down tohave been Diod.,XVI,57, 1 ff. sacrilege, put byDionysius 124 and67, 1 ff. (announced Diod.,XV,48 ; XVI,57, 1 ff. byXV,48,4). 125 22 c-f ofdestructions, On theperiodicity Tim., ; Leg.,Ill, 677a. 126 ofTimotheus on theinitiative Therevival ofthePanionion (?),cf.note132 of n. 48. thearticle cited above, 127 . 121b f atCrit as Deucalion's such ofthe istold Cf.what ., Ill d ff., cataclysms ofdenudation on account Eventhe scientific Plato (Taylor, , 461)orpseudo-scientific between thecontest to associate Attica {Crit. , 110 e ff.) mayhavebeenintended andPoseidon Athena Ill, 14,1). (Apollod., Bibi., 128 oftheTimaeus) date And422-421 dramatic (the too,Diod.12,73, 1 ; Thuc.5, 32, 1. 129 (like It may be that oneofPlato's Polyxenus) opponents politico-philosophical of356. was alsoengaged inthediscussions

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connotes an atheist(notorious through his Sisyphus ), and Atlas the the as an of Phaedo (99 c) overlooked materialistic phrase philosophy, theirDelphic aspect,an exegeteof the us. Withoutconsidering informs common denominaTimaeus and the Cridas cannot finda satisfactory : our propositionhas tor fortheirpoliticaland cosmological themes130 the historical model of the disaster the further advantageof identifying Athens.Like Delphi and theAchaean cities and of primitive of Atlantis in 373, theyended in an earthquakeand tsunamis; such destructions, belongingto the periods when the God retiresfromthe rudderof the 13 world-ship !, tend to menace the innocent but disunited bodies (prediluvianAthens,Delphi in 373) in additionto the guilty(Atlantis and it can hardlybe a mere coincidencethatProclus, and Achaea) 132, in illustrationof the Timaeus, 25 c, points to the great natural of 373 133. catastrophe and completedto a observationsare corroborated 3. The foregoing degree by an analysis of the names comprised in the Atlantid genealogy134. To my knowledge, there has so far been no comprehensive discussion of the problems posed by it 135,though tends neverpurportless, Plato's choice of a mythological anthroponym, to hint, in passages of some bearing, at real, usually contemporary personage. Two notices, in the Banquet (221 c-d) and the Phaedrus (261 b-c), may even lead us to the conclusion that the philosopher occasionally played with his listenersa game of decipheringsuch i3f Taylor, 440("nological connexion"). Plato, 131 notes at 270e) andabove, teXeut. 124, (note theiaiatg Cf.Politicus , 268e ff. 127. 132 atTim., onthe"prophets" comment inthe to find Itwould notbe implausible in function ontheDelphic ofPlato's unfavourable 72b a reflex priesthood judgment 10(1981),12f]. ston. the360'sandthe350's[Riv. dell'Ani., during 133 ? ; cf.Diog.Laert.,Ill, 1, ofPlato on a biography (based Proclus' testimony remark on the sourceof Plato'sidea of 20 f.) has beencited, witha justified disaster natural ofthe Atlantean the Atticowarbya special ["...pretty type terminating ona lesser scale inhis same ofthe occurrence toPlato thing bythe certainly suggested ownlifetime" , 56. (i.e.in 373B.C.)], Commentary byTaylor, 134 Athens (Cr ofprehistoric Theprosopography Erechtheus, it.,110a: Ccrops, does not call for a detailed not unconventional, Erichthonius, Erysichthon), : "Platon semble avoir itduly whoglosses 235ff., examination (cf.Rivaud, op.cit., la lutte aveclesenfants leshros rois choisi d'Athnes, quiengagrent pour premiers du Dieututlaire de l'Atlantide"). 135 themost 237f.)being That ofRivaud important. perhaps (op.cit.,

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allusions 136.As Plato's own texts show, the obvious method of 137 was twofold,to treatthe name etymologically identification or to qualify it according to the character or fate of its mythological but otherpossibilities bearer 138, mustalso be reckonedwith,especially in thecase of constructed names. And one should beware of too simple solutions: like the implications of the choice of the dramatispersonae dealt with in the previous chapter,or the natureof theircharacterization in the dialogues, the patternof the Atlantidgenealogy appears 139. complex and multidetermined The case of the ancestors of Atlas and his brothersseems rather : an able (Evenor, "Man of good" H0) and ambitious transparent 141 race unitedwith Poseidon, (Leucippe, "Spirit" ; Cleito, "Fame" 142) the initiator of Athens' maritime orientation. The marriageof Cleito to Poseidon foreshadowsthe historical deterioration of Athens(Syracuse), which is spoken of at the end of the Crtias. While Evenor has, within the genealogy, a purely symbolic role 143 revealed through the a mythologietymologicalmeaning of his name, Poseidon represents cally real character,who deeply influencedAthenian life of the fifth and fourth century. Leucippe s and Cleito s part lies somewhere between the two, forthey are symbols and mythological allegoriesat the same time,Leucippe standingforMelanippe (see below), Cleito for Athena as assimilatedby Poseidon 144. Poseidon with Cleito "begot fivetwin birthsof male offspring and dividedthe whole isle of Atlantisintoten parts"(Crit. 1 14 the five a) ; , 136 Cf.L. Robin's ad Phaedr remark iust ., 261b (d.Belles lettres). 137 113a : theAtlantid aretranslatable. "La saveur names des Crit., tymologique noms insome (oftheAtlantids)" hasbeen stressed (andoverstressed cases) byVidalloc.cit., 436,n. 82. Naquet, 138 ~ Brasidas, Cf.Symp Nestor /Antenor Pericles) ., 221c (Achilles ; Phaedr ., ~ Thrasvmachus/Theodorus). 261c (Nestor Grgias, Odvsseus 139 Cf.e.g.Friedlnder, I, 222. op.cit., 140 loc.cit. Vidal-Naquet, 141 andnote text 28. Above, 142 loc.cit. Vidal-Naquet, 143 Other known n. 156)haveno relevance Evenors Leocritus' sonbelow, (seefor here. 144 ~ opLonTprj) Cf.ournotes andtheattribute of 87, 151(Cleopatra eSoo Nikein Simonides. oftheanalagous Plato (Athena) evolution, mayhaveseena sign initsfinal ofAthena a martial inthe toward Athena Areia ofthe effect, negative deity, Oath inJHS (1.18,cf.2 f.), Siewert, , 97, 109f.("a later intrusion"). Ephebic

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pairs (Atlas, Eumelus or Gadirus ; Ampheres, Euaemon ; Mneseus, Autochthon; Elasippus, Mestor ; Azaes, Diaprepes) consequentlyform two series,of senior(Atlas,Ampheres,Mneseus, Elasippus, Azaes) and junior (Eumelus/Gadirus,Euaemon, Autochthon,Mestor, Diaprepes) The absence of women has been emphasized145 brothers respectively. to but not explained ; very probably,it implies Plato's criticalattitude 146 the and the Atlantidsas a male warriors'club order,purity lacking . culturetypicalof the femininefactor147 Now, the decimal constitutionof Poseidon's Atlantid offspring of democratic Athens evidentlyreflectsthe Cleisthenic constitution But its such as the body of the strategi. with its negativeby-products 148 duality- the elders and the youngers has remainedpuzzling and, the mythologicalmodel of the Atlantidbipartite rathersurprisingly, has not been recognized.One can hardlydoubt,however,that dynasty Plato got his inspirationfor this part of the Crtias in the famous 149 ; not only was the model popular genealogyof Boeotus and Aeolus it must the ancient reader to make an identification, to allow enough have been especially familiar to the Academy through Eurypides (whose Mela nippehappens to be quoted in theBanquet, 177 a), Plato's wisest tragedian(Rep., VIII, 568 a). Several itemscommon to the two genealogies sufficeto establish Plato's debt (the names of Poseidon, Cleito ~ Cleopatra 151 ; the factthattwins Melanippe > Leucippe 15, us believe thatthe its makes the in in both turn, which, lineages), figure Crtias' bipartitestemma was intendedto connote two parts of the 145 237. Rivaud, op.cit., 146 Contrast Crii. . 110c. 147 roleof thecultivating seeLeg.,VII, 702e, for andpurity Forfeminine order . Y. inthe andofDiotima inthe Menexenus ofAspasia women cf.theroles Banquet from a certain attitude towomen, Brs' notes onPlato's modernizing suffering though well-oriented (La in RG,86 (1973),229],areessentially [cf.L. Brisson, tendency 221ff.). de Platon 1973, 2,Paris, psychologie 141 ofAtlantis. ittotheOtherness (loc.cit., 438)ascribes Vidal-Naquet 418it. inRb, XV U9JU, On it,Kruse, 150 anautomatic association here makes andwhite ofblack Thecontrast Melanippe notes (cf.above, 28, 115). 151 cf.above, n. 55) ofher as an abbreviation name, betaken (Cleito may Cleopatra both as the oftheAtlantid) stemma ( = Cleito Aeolus Arne oftheBoeotusreplaces as Poseidon's sonand / ofPoseidon andas a wife twins [onPhineus mother ofgrateful 2374f.]. Cf.Kruse, inRoschers Lex.,Ill (1897-1909), ormaritime Jessen, Myth. deity, inRE, XI (1921)732f. 219; Eitrem, inRE, XX (1941), 421; K. Ziegler, loc.cit.,

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Greek world, similar to its actual source concerning Boeotia and Aeolia. Plato himselfsuggeststhat conclusion to the reader in more than one way, notably by connectingthe elders, throughAtlas, to and the youngers,throughEumelus' Semitic by-name,to Athens152, the further Of indications along the same line, mention Syracuse. made of the ancient and of the should be equation Aeolia-Sicily 154 philoboeotismof the Athenian radicals of the fourth century ; the formertends to identify Aeolus' (Eumelus') brotherswith the bad the latter the whole group of Atlas with Plato's and Syracusans, Timotheus' enemies in Athens. In all probability, the stemmawas builtwith a threefold purpose,to resemblence to its Aeolus-Boeotus model, to display mythological names illustrative of the provide symbolic politico-philosophical tendency of the Timaeus-Critias, and to allude through onomastic coincidencesto actual characters active in Athensand Syracuse during the late 360's and early 350's, as was previouslydone in the Republic and many otherdialogues of Plato. Naturally,a singlename may have two or even threefunctions at the same time,especiallythe performed and refer second and thirdfunction, to phenomenaoccurring in Athens and Syracuse alike ; it was a certainparellellismof the Athenian and Syracusan crisis c. 356-355 B.C. that made desirablethe construction of Atlantisas a cumulativesymbol of the corruptAthens and corrupt Syracuse. It is impossible for a modern reader of the Crtias to understandall the messages of the genealogy, but the majorityof names allow of satisfactory interpretations along the lines tracedhere ; no need to say that the Atlantid genealogy, like other ancient mustbe prevailingly in itsbeginning, and genealogies155, mythological historicalat its end. prevailingly The fidelity to the mythological model(s) of the stemmamay explain the inclusion, besides Poseidon, Melanippe, and Cleito, of the 152 atCrit., 120d. is saidon "the chief command" Cf.what 153 f.(the blend oftheThessalian andthe inRE, I (1894),1032 f.,1037 Tmpel, Sicilian Aeolus in Euripides' Melanippai). of Azeniaare themostprominent and Aristophon of Steiria Thrasybulus with K. Wernicke, connections inRE, Atlas himself hasimportant Boeotia, examples. II (1896), 2128. titles ofHecataeus' on the Cf.e.g.F. Jacoby's comment 'HpoAoyia/r eveaXoyiai the-porpii distinction between and workand on Herodotus' ysver) mythographic (FGrHist , I, p. 318f.). v6pami)r] Xeyoivr) yeverj

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and the Thessaiian names Eumelus and Euaemon in Aeolus' group 156, and names Atlas in Boeotus' Ampheres group 157. quasi-Boeotian Elasippus, an tnnog anthroponym,fits well into a Poseidonic genealogy158. The second functionbelongs to the names Evenor, Leucippe and Cleito (these last being also mythological),further on to Mneseus Autochthon160, Mestor (~ rjazojp ("Revengeful")159, zrj,"Author of the battle-din") l6!, and Diaprepes ("Magnificent")162.It may be combined with the first in the cases of Atlas 163 , Euaemon 164 165 ("Aristocrat") and Ampheres(~ "Boatman") while the qualities/ politicalwatchwardscontainedin the meaningof these anthroponyms may have also hintedat particularmen notorious for possessing the given qualityor using the given watchward166. 156 inthe Iliad[that circumstance andEuaemon, TheThessalians Eumelus figuring must Homer have been Plato's is rightly stressed 237,since upon byRivaud, op.cit., andMestor, the caseofEvenor matters chief inthese (cf. source ofinspiration Rivaud, was evenAeolus' Aeolian 3 f.)], arenaturally (Euaemon grandop.cit.,237,notes the 1079; Escher, inRE, VI (1907), ib.,834.Eumelus (Alcestis, Hoefer, grand-son), nameand heroine of that of mother of thebetter known of thetwoTfcessalians to several times in theBanquet referred was a popular , figure Euripides' tragedy, withAtlasand 179b-f,180b, 208d) mayhavebeenetymologically associated Diod.,IV, 27, 1. Hesperus, cl. Amphiaraus For Atlassee above,n. 154,lor Ampheres ithemythonym in RE, I [1894], Othe Theban'Aneov, in several variants, e.g. "Atpig occurring and 'AfpLEpeajg, inRE, I, 1186]. 1884) 158 andan Hippe. an Hippotes contains s lineage Melaniooe 159 andhome inboth andDion's Timotheus' foreign policy corresponded placability inEp., 7, 325b) butnot toAthenian ofamnesty toPlato's ideas (cf. e.g.theapproval instance andSyracusan c. 356 B.C.(seefor Ps.-Demosth., 49, 66 f.; Plut., practice Dion.47-48.1). 160 inAthens oftheradicals wasa political (Isocr., 8,49)and slogan Autochthony oftheantiAthenians in Syracuse (cf.Diod.,V, 1, 3 ; 4, 3 ff.) ; on thephilosophical 245e ff.). itmay materialism connote level, (Soph., 161 Iliadpassim. liad,IV, 328; cf.rjaTCtjp (pooco, 162 that "le mot n. 7, remarks Tbl with Rivaud, que n'apparat Scanpenrig op.cit., dansle pseudo-Hraclite, danslestextes bienpostrieurs, qui le donne parexample auxHesprides". comme pithte 163 99 c. Cf.Phaedo, 164 was alsoamong theslogans mentioned oftheAthenians Thenoble by origin Isocrates (8, 50). 165 (cf.'xq>r)pi)<; An allusion totheMaritime L-S-J, s.v.,[II])? [SpuJ, League 166 an identification Possibilities for ofother andDiaprepes. Mestor for Cf.below, of ofEumelus whoas a type tobe discussed items aretoonumerous perhaps (except stood for have horse-racer theunsuccessful I, Diod.,XIV,109,1 ff.). Dionysius may

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To the thirdcategoryone could safelyattribute those names which are neithermythologically nor etymologically characteristic. There is, in the strictsense, only one such, Azaes, whose possible connection with a, "heat (of ambition)",is too distant to be reckonedwith in an The identification with edifyinggenealogy. Aristophon,the negative of the ( Timaeus ') Crtias' background,seems unavoidable : protagonist his deme was Azenia - the formof the anthroponym Azaes is all the more understandableas ancient 167 derive (and modern) etymologists the Attic Azenia and the Peloponnesian Azania fromthe short a "drynessof soil" - and thepersonalallusion undersuch a geographical label could be expectedin view of both Athenianpoliticalusage 168 and the parallel provided by Plato's other metonomasyof a geographical But it is likely,considering the normaltendency to progressive type169. laicizationin a Greek genealogy,thatat leasttwo closingpairs ofthelist to historical purport entirely opponentsof Plato, Timotheusand Dion. That is especially the case of Diaprepes, who is with Azaes the only memberof the dynasty of having no namesake in the whole repertory 17.Its meaning, analogous to the meaning of an Greek mythology ironical address to Dionysius II in the slightlyearlier Third Letter (318 b : iL dau/iau,"Sir Marvelous") would seem to pertainto the Sicilian tyrant.The last but one brotheron the Syracusan side may have been, etymologically, the pragmaticand war-like counsellor of and Plato's His Athenian counterDionysius great rival, Philistus172. part, Elasippus, seems to bear a name paraphrasingthe name of the politician Hegesippus l73, the proposer of the sacrilegious AtticoPhocian alliance in 356, Chabrias' personal enemy and a complete radical to noticethatany allusion to Chares Finally,it is interesting 167 ad Dion.,414; ad II., 28, 8. - Azeus(Paus.,IX, 37, 1) evoked Eustath., by immaterial inthis matter. Rivaud, 237,n. 6, is a minor figure op.cit., 168 cites thedemotica, in thefourth ofthe Which, century, e.g. in theprescripts decrees ofofficials. (a significant Phaedr context, ., 258a), andinthelists 169 oftheRepublic of Er in themyth thefather Orontes' Armenius, , epitomizes n. 55). Armenian (above, origin 170 As Rivaud, underlined. ., 237,hasalready op.cit 171 an (Phaedr Plato usesthesameepithet alsoina friendly ., 257c) ; for meaning n. 3 (oncpo). 6 with ambivalence seeWelliver, analogous op.cit., 172 inRE, XIX (1938), R. Laqueur, 2428. On thepersonage, 173 arealmost Thefirst ofthetwonames parts synonymous. 174 IV (1924),713f. (notethetrustworthy W. Kroll, in RE, Supplb. On him, anecdote in Diog.Laert., Ill, 24).

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That of thestemma175. is absent,at leastaccordingto our interpretation rules of to the also the shortness of the list but due to been may have and discussion in the Academy the Timaeus-Critias,sophisticated demanding of the reader Platonic pre-knowledgeas they do, were of Plato's politicoto be analized by seniorstudents obviouslyintended 176 which seem to have excluded topics of little philosophicalschool . nature177 importanceor undignified Facultde Philosophie, ika Ljubina 18-20, Belgrade, Yougoslavie. Slobodan Duani.

175 to inthe events of357-355, anallusion role toChares' With conspicuous regard toovague. would seem Mneseus (orMestor) ofAmpheres, under thenames him 176 theTimaeus-Critias seem to havebeen towhom ofthecircle Thenarrowness fell ofthe twodialogues that the fact the tends toexplain consecrated messages political before context ofAtlantis became absolete the into oblivion ; understandably, political which contributed tothesame oftheMacedonian with theappearance danger, long, fabulous onthe Aristotle's comment (II, 102; XIII, effect. island, preserved byStrabo what the Atlantis knew meant the that ; atleast, indicates 598), myth Stagirite perhaps Achaeans" "wall ofthe the with (Iliad hiscomparison ofAtlantis , VII,433,441; XII, as ofa passage from the Laws(IV,706f.), inthe 1 ff. etpass.)isbest understood, light maritime orientation. ofAthens' toPlato's disapproval alluding 177 became a commonplace of comedy of Platoand his pupils The tactfulness 11; Ephippus' , 20, if probably Plut.,Dion (Epicrates' 14; theanecdote frg. frg. other ofthe onthe the nevertheless reflects ; Chares, unhistorical, Academy) etiquette to refers that neither ever anditis significant wasa type ofsimpleton, hand, Iphicrates him byname. doesnot in 1979, this Class,early inthe Ant. for P.S. Accepted paper publication ofPlato's which bearon theproblem andbooks articles ofrecent discuss a number vol.V ofW. K. C. Guthrie's History Atlantis, ofGreek Philosophy. including

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