Wednesday 14-11-2018 - 11:55

James Hua, the Classics Society Academic Affairs Officer, summarises the most recent of the Classics Society fortnightly talks: Dr Andrea Capra on “Socrates’ Mask and Plato’s Dialogues.”

In what ways do literature and archaeology intersect? What is conceived when comedy and philosophy transcend into portraiture and the architecture of Athens’ Acropolis? And most of all, what happens when you take all of this and apply it to Athens at its acme of glory?

Dr Andrea Capra explored these ideas in the second academic talk of the Classics Society this year, focusing on the many images of Socrates. Dr Capra’s multi-disciplinary approach revolved around Socrates’ (i.e. the “founder” of modern philosophy) reception in literature and art during the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, at the height of Classical Athens. Extended from an article he recently wrote in Socrates and Socratic Studies (“Aristophanes’ Iconic Socrates”), Dr Capra’s analysis ranged from Plato’s dialogues (especially the Symposium) to the artistic representations of Dionysos and Silenos, and on the way considered Athens’ topography, comedy, tragedy, and other 5th- and 4th-century literature.
 
Though many have argued that Plato’s Socratic dialogues are post-theatrical, they are replete with analogies to Athenian drama. Dr Capra set out to explore whether there were any traces of this interaction between words and images in Plato’s post-theatrical dialogues. Do visual elements of the theatre lie in the background of Plato’s written dialogues? And what are the implications of this in relation to Socrates as a character? 

First, Dr Capra analysed the artistic and theatrical revolution in the iconography of Dionysus during the 5th century BCE, which was largely influenced by the Dionysus sculpture on the Eastern pediment on the Parthenon. Then, Dr Capra argued that these shifts in the figure of Dionysos/Silenos mirror the iconographic and theatrical changes of Socrates himself. But how did this come about; who drove this transition; what was the result? The crux of Dr Capra’s argument lay in the claim that Plato, through his philosophical dialogues, was the primary agent in instigating this change in the image of Socrates. Precisely through using resonances from the theatre, Dr Capra argued, Plato changed the traditional, negative image of Socrates as a drunk buffoon associated with the satryical Silenos, into a dignified, honourable Athenian citizen. And he did this precisely by emphasising the positive, wisdom-bearing aspect of Silenos and Dionysus, and eliminating the negative, drunkard side. 

Where did the value of this talk lie for all of us; why should we care? In the fact that Dr Capra included so many different cross-disciplinary sources, media, and methodologies to create a comprehensive whole argument, which was argued in an accessible and appealing way to all, and contributed significantly to the current trend of cross-cultural comparisons in the humanities. By incorporating inter-disciplinary aspects, including clear explanations and wonderfully-learned sub-arguments, Dr Capra brought out a new aspect of Socrates’ character that ties all aspects of the contemporary culture. Most importantly, Dr Capra rightly credited Plato for radically improving the image of Socrates, which would impact so many disciples down the centuries, right down to us today as we read this.

And so, at the end of Plato’s Symposium, as Socrates walks away into the dawn, having learnt new things and transmitted them to us, Dr Capra detailed many inspiring new ideas through the night and left us with the feeling of walking through the dawn, having come closer to understanding the fundamental role Plato’s dialogues played in promoting the changing mask of Socrates.

Quite aptly, just like what Socrates did with philosophy for the masses, Dr Capra demonstrated the opportunities in studying Classics and opened up the Classics for all.

Please note that this piece is the interpretation of one of the members of the audience present at the talk, who tried his best while scribbling down notes! The views expressed herein may not perfectly reflect the author’s ideas.

Discover more about the talk in the Classics Society journal here and find out more about the Classics Society and their upcoming talks here.