Glaucon

Glaucon (Greek Γλαύκων Glaucon, even Glaucon of Athens; * before 428 BC; † after 382 BC) was an older brother of the philosopher Plato. He is said to have operated as a writer.

Life

Glaucon was the second oldest of the three sons of Ariston and his wife Periktione. He was named after his maternal grandfather. His brothers were Adeimantus and Plato; Plato was the youngest. They had a sister named Potone.

The family was aristocratic and wealthy. She lived in Kollytos, a suburb of Athens. Ariston considered himself a descendant of the Kodros, a mythical king of Athens; at any rate one of his ancestors, Aristokles already been 605/604 BC Archon. Under Periktiones ancestors was a friend and relative of the legendary Athenian legislator Solon.

Glaucon was born not more than 429. After the early death of his father, his mother married to her maternal uncle Pyrilampes 423, a distinguished Athenian who had worked to Pericles ' time as an envoy. From this marriage was Antiphon, a half-brother Glaucon forth. Pyrilampes had a son from a previous marriage, demos, which Glaucon's stepbrother was.

According to Plato's Glaucon took in the Peloponnesian War along with his brother Adeimantus in a battle at Megara in part, in which he distinguished himself. If this is not literary fiction, but historical reality, it is probably at the battle of the Keratahügeln near Megara, which took place in the year 409.

Glaucon was philosophically interesting and belonged to the radius of the famous philosopher Socrates, whose disciple was his younger brother Plato. A pupil ratio Glaucon to Socrates, however, is not attested in the sources. In Plato's Apology of Socrates, a literary configured version of the defense speech given by Socrates in the year 399 as a defendant, Adeimantus is, but not among those present who come as witnesses into consideration, called Glaucon.

The writer Xenophon, who was a pupil of Socrates, handed in his memories of Socrates a long conversation between the philosopher and the young Glaucon, who was not yet twenty years of age, but had taken it into his head to seek a political leadership and this purpose to perform in the People's Assembly as a speaker. His relatives and friends had tried in vain to dissuade him, to spare him the embarrassment predictable. Only Socrates is to bring about a change of mind of the young man by leading him his ignorance in matters of state in mind succeeded.

As a young man Glaucon had a homoerotic relationship with Critias, who was a cousin of his mother and later as oligarchic politician during the reign of the Thirty ( 404-403 ) played a key role.

Works

The philosophy Diogenes Laertius historian asserts, Glaucon had written nine dialogues, and gives the title to: Pheidylos, Euripides, Amyntichos, Euthias, Lysitheides, Aristophanes, Cephalus, Anaxiphemos and Menexenos. Under Glaucon's name also were handed 32 more dialogues but that those regarded as spurious. From these works, nothing has been preserved. The people, after whom the dialogue is named, can be partially identified. In Euripides and Aristophanes is the famous playwright. Cephalus Cephalus is probably either of Klazomenai, the fictional narrator in Plato's dialogue Parmenides, or Cephalus of Syracuse, who lives in Athens, father of the famous speech writer Lysias. Cephalus of Syracuse is one of the interlocutors of Socrates in Plato's dialogue Politeia. Menexenos is probably the pupil of Socrates, according to Plato's dialogue Menexenos is named.

Role in the works of Plato

Glaucon comes in three dialogues of Plato. In Politeia dialogue he takes part in the conversation; there are he and his brother Adeimantus from the second book, the main interlocutor of Socrates. Overall, the Glaucon assigned roles, the most extensive and weighty philosophical among the utterances of Socrates ' interlocutors in this dialogue. Glaucon is there than love experienced, described courageous, pugnacious and very decided in appearance. In this interview he proves to be ambitious, optimistic, straightforward and successful conscious. In Plato's Symposium, he appears only in the background story as questioner. In the Parmenides dialogue he is involved as a marginal figure in the background story.

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