“You shall be in wonder when you hear” — Conservation, mousike, and Plato’s praise of Egyptian art in Laws II, 653c — 654a
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14195/1984-249X_32_07Keywords:
Plato, Laws, Egyptian Art, Greek philosophy, MousikeAbstract
In Laws, mousike is restored to the constitution of the city (Magnesia) as an instrument for the education of citizens. According to the Athenian Stranger, the regulation and preservation of mousike's correct forms, through melos and schema, is also responsible for the maintenance of Magnesia's cultural and political stability. In this context, Plato praises Egyptian art, which would have maintained its style and, consequently, Egyptian politics stable for a long time. This article will thus present a translation of 653c - 654a and three contemporary interpretations of this eulogy. Lastly, the three interpretations will be evaluated and a possibility of an approximation between the Platonic praise and (visual) Egyptian art will be suggested, considering its probable social, religious and political functions.
Downloads
References
ANNAS, J. (2010). Virtue and law in Plato In: BOBONICH, C. (ed.) Plato's Laws: a critical guide 1a ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, p. 71-91.
BAINES, J. (1989). Communication and display: the integration of early Egyptian Art and writing. Antiquity 63, pp. 471-482.
BAINES, J. (1994). On the Status and purposes of Ancient Egyptian Art. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 4, pp. 67-94.
BAINES, J. (2007). Visual and written culture in Ancient Egypt 1a ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
BOBONICH, C. (ed). (2010). Plato's Laws: a critical guide 1a ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press .
BRISSON, L.; PRADEAU, J-F. (2007). Platon. Les Lois de Platon 1ª e. Paris, Presses Universitaires de France.
CALAME, C. (2013). Eros na Grécia Antiga 1a ed. São Paulo, Editora Perspectiva.
DA ROCHA PEREIRA, M. H. (trad.). (2001) Platão. A República 9a ed. Lisboa, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
DAVIS, W. M. (1979). Plato on Egyptian Art. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 65, n. 1, p. 121-127
DAVIS, W. M. (1989). The Canonical Tradition in Ancient Egyptian Art 1a ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press .
DE LA FUENTE, D. H. (2013) Der Chor des Dionysos: Religion und Erziehung in Platons “Nomoi”. Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte 65, n. 1, p. 1-17.
ERASMIA-PEPONI, A. (2013)(ed.). Performance and Culture in Plato's Laws 1a ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press .
HICKS, R.D. (trad.). (1972). Diogenes Laertius. Lives of Eminent Philosophers Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
FERREIRA, C. V. (2018). A imagem, o faraó, e o deus na época de Amarna: continuidades e rupturas (Egito século XIV a. C.). Dissertação de mestrado. Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo.
FOLCH, M. (2013). Unideal Genres and the Ideal City: Comedy, Threnody, and the Making of Citizens in Plato's Laws. In: ERASMIA-PEPONI, A. (ed.). Performance and Culture in Plato's Laws 1a ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press , p. 339-368
FOLCH, M. (2015). The City and the Stage: Performance, Genre, and Gender in Plato’s Laws 1a ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press .
FORD, A. (2002). The Origins of Criticism: Literary Culture and Poetic Theory in Classical Greece 1a e. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
GOMBRICH, E. H. (2013) A História da Arte Trad. Álvaro Cabral. Edição de bolso. Rio de Janeiro, Editora Livros Técnicos e Científicos.
GRIFFITH, M. (2013) Cretan Harmonies and Universal Morals: Early Music and Migrations of Wisdom in Plato's Laws. In: ERASMIA-PEPONI, A. (ed.). Performance and Culture in Plato's Laws 1a ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press , p. 15-66.
HALLIWELL, S. (2002) The Aesthetics of Mimesis: Ancient Texts and Modern Problems Princeton, Princeton University Press .
HARTWIG, M. K. (ed). (2015). A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art 1a ed. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
HARTWIG, M. K. (2015) Sculpture. Em: HARTWIG, M. K. (ed). (2015). A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art . 1a ed. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons Ltd , p. 191-218.
HAVELOCK, E. A. (1963) Preface to Plato 1a ed. Cambridge, Harvard University Press .
IKRAM, S. (2015) Interpreting Ancient Egyptian Material Culture. HARTWIG, M. K. (ed). (2015). A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art . 1a ed. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons Ltd , p. 175-188.
JOWETT, B. (trad.). (1952). Plato. Laws In: JOWETT, B. (1952). Plato. The Dialogues of Plato Chicago, Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Inc.
MEYER, S. S. (2015). Plato. Plato’s Laws Books 1 and 2 1ª ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press .
MONTEILS-LAENG, L. (2009). Létitia Mouze: Le législateur et le poète. Études Platoniciennes 6, p. 229-231.
MORROW, G. R. (1993). Plato’s Cretan City: a historical interpretation of the Laws 2ª ed. Princeton, Princeton University Press .
MOUZE, L. (2006). Le législateur et le poète: Une interprétation des Lois de Platon 1ª ed. Lille, Presses Universitaires du Septentrion.
MURRAY, P. (ed.) (1997). Plato on Poetry: Ion, Republic 376e-398b, Republic 595-608b Cambridge, Cambridge University Press .
NYORD, R. (2020). Seeing Perfection: Ancient Egyptian Images Beyond Representation 1a ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press .
PANNO, G. (2007). Dionisiaco e Alterità nelle Leggi di Platone: Ordine del corpo e automovimento dell’anima nella città-tragedia 1ª ed. Milano, Vita e Pensiero.
PANOFSKY, E. (1955). The History of the Theory of Human Proportions. In: PANOFSKY, E. (1955), Meaning in the Visual Arts 1a ed. New York, Doubleday Anchor Books.
BURNET, J. (ed.) (1903). Plato. Laws In: BURNET, J. (1903) Plato. Platonis Opera Oxford, Oxford University Press .
RIGGS, C. (2014). Ancient Egyptian Art and Architecture: A Very Short Introduction 1a ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press .
RUTHERFORD, I. (2013). Strictly Ballroom: Egyptian Mousike and Plato's Comparative Poetics. In: ERASMIA-PEPONI, A. (ed.). Performance and Culture in Plato's Laws 1a ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press , p. 67-83.
SCHOFIELD, M. (2010). The Laws' Two Projects. In: BOBONICH, C. (ed). (2010). Plato's Laws: a critical guide 1a ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press , p. 12-28.
SCHÖPSDAU, K. (trad.). (1994). Platon. Nomoi (Gesetze) Buch I-III Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
SCHÖPSDAU, K. (trad.). (2003). Platon. Nomoi (Gesetze) Buch IV-VII Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht .
WILSON, P. (2004). Hieroglyphs: A Very Short Introduction 1a ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press .
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Rafael Brunhara, Ana Clara Meneguzzi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Given the public access policy of the journal, the use of the published texts is free, with the obligation of recognizing the original authorship and the first publication in this journal. The authors of the published contributions are entirely and exclusively responsible for their contents.
1. The authors authorize the publication of the article in this journal.
2. The authors guarantee that the contribution is original, and take full responsibility for its content in case of impugnation by third parties.
3. The authors guarantee that the contribution is not under evaluation in another journal.
4. The authors keep the copyright and convey to the journal the right of first publication, the work being licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License-BY.
5. The authors are allowed and stimulated to publicize and distribute their work on-line after the publication in the journal.
6. The authors of the approved works authorize the journal to distribute their content, after publication, for reproduction in content indexes, virtual libraries and similars.
7. The editors reserve the right to make adjustments to the text and to adequate the article to the editorial rules of the journal.