Dear all,
This is to remind you of the CRASIS Ancient World Seminar *this afternoon*.
All are welcome to attend the lecture by
*Gabriele Cornelli*
*"Socrates and Alcibiades: gender politics at the heart of Plato's
Symposium"*
Two different but complementary movements are at play within the skilfull
construction of the dramatic figure of Alcibiades in the interior of the
Platonic dialogues: first, a deft rhetorical construction, strongly marked
by an emphasis on Alcibiades' sexual paranomia, that is, on his deviant
sexual behavior, which is in turn functional to a political strategy of
memory control, regarding the posthumous defense of Socrates and his
paideia as responsible for creating the ethical-political figure of
Alcibiades. The chosen locus of research will precisely be Plato’s
Symposium, where eros and paideia draw the fabric of dramatic and
rhetorical speeches and, especially, the picture of the relation between
Socrates and Alcibiades. Realizing there obviously was no way to deny the
deep connection between Socrates and Alcibiades, Plato uses a clever
dramatic construction with the intention of operating a political
intervention upon the memory of this relationship, that is, of rewriting
history, with the intent of relieving him of a more precise charge, which
must have especially weighed upon Plato and upon Socrates’ memory: of him
having been Alcibiades’ lover/mentor. This Platonic apology is based,
ultimately, in a clever rhetorical strategy, which emphasizes the now
traditional sexual paranomia of Alcibiades, in order to make him guilty of
an attempted excessive and outrageous seduction not only of Socrates, but
of the polis itself. Reusing comic and oratorical/rhetorical motifs of his
time, therefore, Plato deepens the *j’accuse *against Alcibiades, trying to
withdraw him from the orbit of Socrates and the Socratics.
*Gabriele Cornelli is Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of
Brasilia and an authority on the study of Plato. He has been the
coordinator of the GT-Plato and Platonism project of ANPOF (2008-2014),
President of the Brazilian Society of Platonists (2008-2010), President of
the International Plato Society (2013-2016 - platosociety.org
<http://platosociety.org>) and editor of Brill's prestigious collection of
Plato Studies. He is currently also visiting professor of the Department of
Ancient Studies at the University of Stellebosch (South Africa). His last
authorial book, In Search of Pythagoreanism, was published by De Gruyter
(Boston / Berlin, 2013).*
The sessions take place as usual in *room 130* of the Faculty of Theology
and Religious Studies (Oude Boteringestraat 38), Groningen, *16.15 –
17.30*. Join us for drinks afterwards!
Best regards,
--
Sjoukje Kamphorst
PhD student in Ancient History
on behalf of the CRASIS team
University of Groningen
CRASIS is the Groningen institute for Interdisciplinary Studies in Culture,
Religion and Society of the Ancient World. Follow CRASIS on Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/rug.crasis> or find out more about us on
www.rug.nl/crasis.
