Ion replies that he specializes solely in Homer only to receive the following reply: Socrates then asks Ion if his knowledge extends to other poets or Homer only. Ion appears rather arrogant saying that he in all of Greece is the one who knows Homer the best. Socrates congratulates Ion proclaiming his admiration for the profession of the rhapsode. 480 BCE, Metropolitan Museum of ArtĪt the beginning of the dialogue, Socrates meets Ion coming back from the festival of Asclepius in Epidaurus having won the first prize in the poetic contest. The First Foundations Man playing the lyre, Dokimasia Painter, ca. Actually, Plato here appears not only to value poetry but also the poet and the rhapsode.

Nevertheless, the fact that Socrates is willing to engage in an intellectual discussion with Ion, only shows that Plato’s philosophy of art in this dialogue differs from his other works. One can even wonder as to why Socrates chose to debate Ion and not someone better equipped. At one point he even claims that he is the best general in Greece. He admits that his skill is driven by profit and does not really appear to have much to say. He performs in king-like clothing while wearing a golden crown. This entices Socrates to question whether Ion also knows the things Homer is talking about. Ion claims to know Homer better than everyone else alive. a professional performer of epic poetry, specializing in Homer. The other character is Ion, a rhapsode, i.e. In any case, Socrates is known for employing irony against his opponents who typically claim to know something while he only claims to know that he knows nothing.

A great debate amongst scholars is whether Plato uses Socrates as a theatrical device or he is actually writing down the teachings of Socrates. Socrates is a philosopher and the classic protagonist of all Platonic dialogues. But let’s take a closer look at the two protagonists of the dialogue, Socrates and Ion. Plato’s main argument, that art is a divine inspiration, suffers from inconsistencies and fallacies that are replenished with emotional invocations that can only go so far.

In a sense, Ion is more of an artwork than a philosophical treatise which is a great irony for a philosopher known for despising art. Plato’s Ion The Death of Socrates, Jacques Louis David, 1787, Metropolitan Museum of Art Plato’s Ion seems to imply that the artist, and more specifically the poet, is a vessel for the god to reveal a truth, but more on that later. Ion is listed amongst Plato’s early dialogues and offers seemingly contradictory ideas to those presented in the Republic. Whereas in the Republic artists are tricksters, imitating reality without capturing its essence and always presenting corrupt images of the truth, in Ion things are different.

Ion by plato