Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
A discussion of the significance of Plato's absence in Phaedo, and of the figure of Theseus as a savior. Hero cults of Socrates (and Plato), the immortality of the word; Plato's appropriation of earlier traditions; Alexander the Great coming to life whenever books of the library of Alexandria were read; the ship of state and the theory of forms.
Recorded in Fall 2019 during v12 of the MOOC, The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours, focusing on Hours 23 and 24, and responses to the Discussion Questions.
With Gregory Nagy, Keith DeStone, and members of the HeroesX Team.
Mentioned in this video:
Stephen White: "Socrates at Colonus: A Hero for the Academy" in Reason and Religion in Socratic Philosophy, 2000.
Gregory Nagy. 2015.04.02. "On Traces of Hero-Cults for Socrates and Plato", in Classical Inquiries
https://classical-inquiries.chs.harvard.edu/on-traces-of-hero-cults-for-socrates-and-plato/
A discussion of the significance of Plato's absence in Phaedo, and of the figure of Theseus as a savior. Hero cults of Socrates (and Plato), the immortality of the word; Plato's appropriation of earlier traditions; Alexander the Great coming to life whenever books of the library of Alexandria were read; the ship of state and the theory of forms.
Recorded in Fall 2019 during v12 of the MOOC, The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours, focusing on Hours 23 and 24, and responses to the Discussion Questions.
With Gregory Nagy, Keith DeStone, and members of the HeroesX Team.
Mentioned in this video:
Stephen White: "Socrates at Colonus: A Hero for the Academy" in Reason and Religion in Socratic Philosophy, 2000.
Gregory Nagy. 2015.04.02. "On Traces of Hero-Cults for Socrates and Plato", in Classical Inquiries
https://classical-inquiries.chs.harvard.edu/on-traces-of-hero-cults-for-socrates-and-plato/
