{"title":"The Case for the 399 BCE Dramatic Date of Plato’s Cratylus","authors":"Colin C. Smith","doi":"10.1086/721536","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"I here revive and support the hypothesis that Plato’s Cratylus is set in 399 BCE, on the day of Theaetetus and Euthyphro and before that of Sophist and Statesman. To revive it, I suggest that the cases for competing dramatic dates are weaker. To support it, I show that the connections between Cratylus and Euthyphro warrant reconsideration, and I address neglected dramatic details, the role of etymology in religious esotericism, and some missed connections between the philosophical concerns of the two dialogues. I conclude by suggesting ways in which this hypothesis yields promising new horizons to explore.","PeriodicalId":46255,"journal":{"name":"CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1086/721536","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"CLASSICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
I here revive and support the hypothesis that Plato’s Cratylus is set in 399 BCE, on the day of Theaetetus and Euthyphro and before that of Sophist and Statesman. To revive it, I suggest that the cases for competing dramatic dates are weaker. To support it, I show that the connections between Cratylus and Euthyphro warrant reconsideration, and I address neglected dramatic details, the role of etymology in religious esotericism, and some missed connections between the philosophical concerns of the two dialogues. I conclude by suggesting ways in which this hypothesis yields promising new horizons to explore.
期刊介绍:
Classical Philology has been an internationally respected journal for the study of the life, languages, and thought of the Ancient Greek and Roman world since 1906. CP covers a broad range of topics from a variety of interpretative points of view. CP welcomes both longer articles and short notes or discussions that make a significant contribution to the study of Greek and Roman antiquity. Any field of classical studies may be treated, separately or in relation to other disciplines, ancient or modern. In particular, we invite studies that illuminate aspects of the languages, literatures, history, art, philosophy, social life, and religion of ancient Greece and Rome. Innovative approaches and originality are encouraged as a necessary part of good scholarship.