The Platonic Alcibiades I: The Dialogue and its Ancient Reception

Description

Although it was influential for several hundred years after it first appeared, doubts about the authenticity of the Platonic Alcibiades I have unnecessarily impeded its interpretation ever since. It positions itself firmly within the Platonic and Socratic traditions, and should therefore be approached in the same way as most other Platonic dialogues. It paints a vivid portrait of a Socrates in his late thirties tackling the unrealistic ambitions of the youthful Alcibiades, urging him to come to know himself and to care for himself. Francois Renaud and Harold Tarrant re-examine the drama and philosophy of Alcibiades I with an eye on those interpreters who cherished it most. Modern scholars regularly play down one or more of the religious, erotic, philosophic or dramatic aspects of the dialogue, so ancient Platonist interpreters are given special consideration. This rich study will interest a wide range of readers in ancient philosophy.

Francois Renaud is a Professor of Philosophy at the Universite de Moncton (New Brunswick). He has published mostly on Plato, Platonic interpretation both in Antiquity and in modern times, and Plato's Socratic legacy. His major publications include Hermeneutic Philosophy and Plato: Gadamer's Response to the Philebus (co-edited with Christopher Gill, 2010). Harold Tarrant is Emeritus Professor at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where he was Professor of Classics for several years. He has authored or co-authored several books relating to ancient Platonism from Plato through to Olympiodorus, and has also co-edited several volumes, the latest being The Neoplatonic Socrates (with Danielle A. Layne, 2014).

'The book is furnished with an appropriate bibliography and two indices. It is a fine work of scholarship.' Peter Lautner, Bryn Mawr Classical Review