Citations in Plato, Symposium 178b-c

Abstract

In Plato’s Symposium, Phaedrus proposes the main theme of ‘encomium to Eros’ at Agathon’s party. This paper examines the beginning of his speech, which cites the authorities, namely Hesiod, Parmenides, and Acusilaus (178b-c). The passage has been suffering many editorial emendations since the late eighteenth century, but the philological examination reveals that the prevailing text of John Burnet (OCT) lacks a firm ground against the manuscripts’ reading. On the other hand, the recent studies of doxography shed a new light on the passage: the citations derive from the Anthology edited by the sophist Hippias. This consideration shows how Phaedrus performs sophistic presentation on the theme of ‘Eros’.notomi@z8.keio.jp