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Greek Civilization and
Platonic Love
Jeffrey L. Richey, Ph.D.
GSTR 220-B
Western Traditions I
Berea College
Fall 2003
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FOUNDATIONS OF GREEK
CIVILIZATION
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Minoan civilization (Crete,
c. 2800-1450 BCE):
Mediterranean island
kingdom
Mycenaean civilization
(Peloponnesus, c. 16001100 BCE): coalition of
small, warlike communities
“Dark Age” civilization
(Ionia, c. 1100-750 BCE):
famine and war lead to
colonization of
Mediterranean islands and
Turkish coast – age of
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
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THE RISE OF THE POLIS
• By 700s BCE, polis (settlement and
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its surrounding countryside)
becomes most important unit of
Greek civilization
Each polis was governed by free
adult males (other residents:
women, children, slaves, and
resident aliens)
By 500s BCE, replacement of
aristocratic dictatorships
(“tyranny”) with government by
randomly-chosen male
representatives of local districts
(“democracy”)
One polis in particular, Athens,
rises to prominence following its
defeat of Persian (Iranian) invaders
(c. 490-470 BCE)
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PRELUDE TO PLATONISM
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Pre-5th century BCE Greek
worldview:
Agonistic – social status (arête)
based on individual competition
Agricultural – concern for
fertility of soil and people
Fatalistic – value of accepting
events in one’s life without
complaint
Patriarchal – society ruled by
propertied male warrior class
Polytheistic – multiple gods
control universe and must be
appeased through sacrifices and
festivals (e.g., Olympic Games)
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5th CENTURY BCE ATHENS
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Athens’ power, stability, and wealth
enables artists and intellectuals to
thrive:
Drama (Aeschylus, Sophocles,
Euripides, Aristophanes)
Architecture (The Parthenon)
Sculpture
Philosophy (Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle)
3 cardinal values emerge:
Humanism -- Is there anything more
wonderful on earth, our marvelous
planet, than the miracle of man?
(Sophocles)
Naturalism – The chief good is life
according to nature. (Zeno of
Citium)
Skepticism -- The unexamined life is
not worth living. (Socrates)
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PLATO (429-347 BCE)
• Born into aristocratic Athenian
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family
Student of Socrates (469-399
BCE), Athenian philosopher
executed for corrupting youth
Wrote numerous dialogues in
which Socrates appears as both
historical figure and mouthpiece
for Plato’s views
Hoped to improve society by
uniting philosophical sophistication
and political power in the person of
a “philosopher-king”
Founded “The Academy,” a
philosophical school in Athens in
which many young men (including
Aristotle, 384-322 BCE) studied
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THE PLATONIC UNIVERSE
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Cosmic dualism:
The World of Forms (perfect,
eternal, real expression of
ideals – e.g., beauty or truth)
The World of Senses
(imperfect, temporary, unreal
manifestation of ideals – e.g.,
beauty as captured in
sculpture, truth as grasped by
Socrates)
“Allegory of the Cave” – cave
residents see shadows cast by
objects and sunlight outside
cave and mistake them for
reality
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3.
Social stratification:
Naturally oriented toward
hierarchical divisions (e.g.,
male/female, free/slave,
ruler/subject)
Ideally meritocratic
(opportunity and power given
to those most intellectually
capable of wielding it
responsibly)
Necessarily limited in terms
of freedom (because only the
wise can be free, since they
alone do what is good out of
love for the good, not fear of
punishment)
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PLATONIC LOVE
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Male-female relationships:
Service-oriented (e.g., childbearing,
prostitution)
Fundamentally unequal (most men
intellectually superior to most
women)
Male-male relationships:
Exchange-oriented (e.g., lover’s
wisdom for beloved’s beauty)
Not necessarily sexual, and never
exclusively so
Transformative (e.g., beloved grows
in arête)
Marriage indispensable, but usually
arranged, seldom for love
Romance (for men) found with
female prostitutes and young men
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