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Plato ... could still speak the language of archaic myth. He made
myth consonant with his thought, as he built the first modern philosophy. We
have trusted his clues as landmarks even on occasions when he professes to speak
"not quite seriously." He gave us a first rule of thumb; he knew what he was
talking about.
-- Professor Giorgio de Santillana (1902-1974), "Hamlet's Mill" (published
1969), page 6.
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Plato Believed Myths Inculcated Beliefs; They Could Be
Used to Persuade Ordinary People. |
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He Also Used Myths as Teaching Tools to Explain His Philosophical
Ideas. |
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He Distinguished Between
the Terms Mythos and Logos; Mythos Was a
Story while Logos Was an Argument.
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Plato Asserts (Seventh Letter) That Philosophical
Truths Cannot be Expressed Discursively.
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.However,
Appropriately Crafted Myths Could Create a Different Kind of
Consciousness in the Listener, Such That He/She Could Receive Ideas That
Are Beyond Ordinary Logic. |
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He Used Many Traditional Myths in His Dialogues, for
Example: |
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Story of Gyges - Republic;
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Myth of Phaethon - Timaeus;
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Myth of the Amazons -
Laws. |
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He Also Used Many Specially Created Myths,
for Example: |
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Allegory of the Cave -
Republic; |
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Myth of Er -
Republic; |
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Myth of Atlantis -
Timaeus. |
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First Greek to Describe the Great World Year Which Became
Known as the Platonic Year. |
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The Great Year, of Highest Significance, Was Completed
When All the Planets Returned to a Constellation in Which They Had
Originally Been Located. |
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For Numerological Reasons, He Believed This Cycle Was
36,000 Years.
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