At Play with the Hierophant: An Examination of Plato's Phaedrus

Abstract

This thesis is an investigation into the role of the dramatics in Plato's Phaedrus. I claim that the dramatics are meant to point the reader to the religious ceremonies known to us as the Mysteries of Eleusis, and further to the profanation of those mysteries that occurred in Athens in 415 BCE. This contextualization of the dialogue is done in order to locate Socrates' and Phaedrus' discussion in an historical setting that was having difficulties determining where between the public and private distinction in society the responsibility for temperance lies. The Phaedrus can thus be read as Plato's response to the problem in this area that the generation before his own faced. The conclusion that Socrates draws in the Phaedrus is that some will be able to act in a temperate and moderate fashion of their own accord, with no influence needed from the state apparatus, and that these citizens must lead the way on a path that all society must be convinced to follow if the city is to be unified in its being.