Philosophy Against Poetry: The Complicated Relationship of Odysseus and Socrates

Abstract

I begin by looking at arguments that Plato seeks to positively compare Odysseus to either the just man or the philosopher of the Republic, or even to Socrates himself. I then turn to an analysis of the Lesser Hippias, in which Socrates elevates Odysseus above Achilles as the best of the Homeric heroes. Finally, I turn to the several implicit Socratic criticisms of Odysseus in the Platonic corpus to make the case that, despite any perceived superiority to Achilles, Odysseus cannot compare favorably with Socrates, whose moral heroism far surpasses that of the suffering of the Homeric hero.

Keywords: Plato, Socrates, Homer, Odysseus, heroism