| The first half of this dissertation consists of three essays about the Theages' dramatic structure, Socrates' divine sign, and authorship. The second half is a commentary and appendices supporting the first half and treating stylistic, grammatical, and textual questions.;The dialogue's dramatic structure is as follows. Demodocus and Theages approach Socrates ostensibly for advice. They really want Socratic tutelage for Theages. Socrates takes them at their word and begins the process of advising by questioning Theages about the wisdom he wants to acquire. At 227a8f., however, Theages pleads that Socrates tutor him, and Demodocus passionately seconds that request. From that point until the dialogue's end, Socrates is on the defensive. He does not refuse Theages, but he ensures that both Theages and Demodocus have considered alternatives and know what Socrates is like.;The Theages has been handed down to us as Platonic. No one in antiquity doubted that it was Platonic as far as we know, but nonetheless it has frequently been athetized by modern scholars. The style does not depart from the style of the early Platonic-Socratic dialogues. I doubt that the dialogue was written by Plato, but my doubts fall short of proof. The content, however, departs in several ways from the early Platonic-Socratic dialogues. Firstly, Socrates appears to present himself as a teacher of conversational skill rather than a seeker after virtue. That is counter to the norm in Plato. Next, Socrates' divine sign is emphasized, boasted over, and explained in detail more than anywhere else in the Platonic corpus. That is counter to the spirit of the other dialogues. Furthermore, the sign appears to be not simply apotreptic in the Theages, but also protreptic, a trait shared with the Alcibiades I and likely the Theaetetus as well. Examination reveals, however, that the sign is not protreptic in the Theages. The Theages' account of the sign differs from other accounts of it by adding information rather than by being incompatible with the other accounts. The most important addition is other-orientedness: it warns Socrates about his friends' actions. It does not do that in the acceptedly Platonic dialogues. |
