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Dr. G's hypertext notes for "Euthyphro" |
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In Socrates' time, Athens was a democracy that had overthrown its kings, but the former palace was used by the "King Archon," an elected official whose duties were those of a high priest. The King Archon was responsible for the city's religious celebrations and for the enforcement of its religious laws. As "Euthyphro" opens, Socrates has learned that he is being prosecuted for impiety in the King Archon's court. Text numbering: like the Bible, Plato's texts include a universal numbering system. The standardization allows us to look up a citation, regardless of the translation or edition of Plato that we happen to be reading. We cite Plato simply by dialogue name and number (for example, "Euthyphro" 2b). Socrates would not be expected to prosecute anyone because he taught the Golden Rule, that a wrong was never to be returned for a wrong (see "Crito" 49c). Little is known of Socrates' accuser Meletus. He may have headed the local poet's guild, as suggested in "the Apology" 23e. Socrates was a frequent and outspoken critic of poets. He often pointed out their mental errors (as in "Euthyphro" 12a) and false pretensions to wisdom (as in "the Apology" 22b), and he contended that many of their works were immoral and should be censored. Evidently the poets turned these charges of immorality back against Socrates by indicting him for corrupting young people. Socrates often spoke about a "Divine Sign" that from time to time warned him against taking various actions that would lead him into trouble. In modern lingo, perhaps we might call this Divine Sign his conscience. By giving this inner voice a name and respecting its power, Socrates has opened himself to accusations that he's an inventor of new gods, or else a witch who communes with a "familiar spirit." Definition #1: piety is doing what I do. King of the gods Kronos learned a prophecy that he would be deposed by one of his children, so whenever his wife Rhea bore a child, Kronos immediately ate it. Finally, when Zeus was born, Rhea tricked her husband by wrapping up a stone in swaddling clothes, and presenting it to Kronos. He swallowed it as usual. Rhea then raised the infant Zeus secretly in a cave on Crete, and eventually he grew up to depose Kronos and become king of the gods. The temple on Crete where this event was supposed to have happened was a famous pilgrimage site in early Greece. Zeus worshippers from all over the Aegean came to make sacrifices. In ancient Greece as in other settings, rival cults struggled against one another, competing for members and power, and they often justified their conflicts by telling stories about conflicts among the gods. The strange tale of Zeus and Kronos probably is a story told by Zeus worshippers to justify their belief that Zeus, not old Kronos, was king of gods. The Panathenaea was an annual festival held to honor the virgin goddess Athena, the chief protector of Athens. The festival featured a huge parade up the Acropolis to the Parthenon, where the goddess' enormous statue received a newly woven robe. The famous sculptures on the Parthenon included a huge depiction of the Panathenaean procession, as well as the story of the conflict between Athena and her rival god Poseidon. There were no dictionaries in Socrates' day, and our concept that all words have agreed upon definitions was unknown; Socrates or Plato seems to have pioneered this notion. Dialogues like the Euthyphro are conversions about the definitions of words. Definition #2: Piety is that which is dear to the gods. Definition #2 revised: piety is what is loved by all of the gods. Socrates' family was in the stone cutting trade. Socrates' father, and probably Socrates, too, had worked "making gods" in the famous Parthenon sculptures. The family traced its ancestry back to the mythic inventor of sculpture, Daedalus, an artist said to be so clever that he could make his statues move. Work on the Parthenon stopped abruptly due to Athens' war with Sparta, when the city could no longer afford sculptures. Out of work, Socrates devoted full time to philosophy but he still continued to think of himself as an artist and descendant of Daedalus. Socrates criticism of the poet Stasinus is typical Socrates; he seems to go out of his way to point out the errors and intellectual weaknesses of poets. Definition#3: Piety is the part of justice that attends to the gods. Definition #3 clarified: piety is service to the gods. Definition #3 further clarified: Piety is praying and sacrificing to the gods. Proteus was a god who continually changed shape. Few succeeded in wrestling with him because he was so hard to pin down. It's thought that the name "Plato" was a nickname, meaning broad-shouldered, and that Plato as a young man was a noted wrestler.
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