Il Socrate di Nicole Loraux

This article focuses on Nicole Loraux’s reading of Plato’s Phaedo. Against the established spiritualist reading of this dialogue, Loraux emphasizes the crucial importance of its political background. So Loraux argues that Socrates’ views about the individual immortal soul should be understood as a criticism (and philosophical appropriation) of the civic values concerning death and courage. In addition to this, Loraux shows that Socrates’ body with its ugly, fascinating and singular features plays a crucial role in the dialogue, so that it can be regarded as a kind of memorial of Socrates’ person (i.e. of Socrates’ soul and logos). Loraux’s interpretation is interestingly similar to that developed by Paul Zanker about the peculiarities of Socrates’ portraits in classical art.