Socrates the Homer - lover as portrayed in Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes

: Socrates is portrayed as a Homer-lover in Plato’s dialogues, both explicitly through his expression of love and respect for Homer since his childhood ( Republic 595b9-10) and implicitly through his numerous Homeric quotations and references. Similarly, Socrates frequently uses Homeric references in the dialogues that Xenophon wrote to preserve his memories. e comparative study of these authors so far suggests that the historical Socrates did use Homer oen in his conversation. However, we should also consider whether that portrait matches the Socrates depicted in Aristophanes’ Clouds , a more contemporary source than Plato and Xenophon’s works. is paper examines the portrayal of Socrates in the Clouds and argues that here, too, we can find a reflection of his love of Homer, especially in his invocation of the Clouds in lines 265-74. It will also consider how that portrayal of Socrates can affect our view of Socrates.

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