The dialogue Phaedrus is the only book of Plato’s in which the protagonist, his teacher Socrates, ventures outside the walls of Athens. In the dialogue, Socrates joins a friend for a walk in the countryside, and over the course of a strange afternoon, encounters beings that will take the direction of his discourse into unexpected territory.
The story begins with Socrates meeting his friend Phaedrus, the title character, on the streets of Athens. Phaedrus is on his way for a walk in the countryside to reflect upon a speech that a famous orator named Lysias gave on the topic of love. Socrates is very interested in hearing and discussing the speech. So, with the promise of sharing the speech, Phaedrus leads Socrates out the city gates, along the Ilissus River, and then to settle under a great tree. It is clear that Socrates does not often leave the city.
Socrates: “Yes indeed, a fair and shady resting place, full of summer sounds and scents. There is the lofty and spreading plane tree, and the agnus castus high and clustering in the fullest blossom and the greatest fragrance. And the stream, which flows beneath the plane tree, is deliciously cold to the feet. Judging from the ornaments and images, this must be a spot sacred to the nymphs. Moreover there is a sweet breeze, and the grasshoppers’ chirrup, and the greatest charm of all is the grass like a pillow gently sloping to the head. Phaedrus, you have been an admirable guide.”
Phaedrus reads Lysias’ speech to Socrates, which is a rather foolish critique of love. Socrates, who is illiterate, is not very impressed by the style of the reading, the composition of the speech, or the strength of the argument. Nonetheless, he does his best to pretend to admire the work of the famous orator. Phaedrus sees through his act and begs Socrates to give a better speech. Socrates agrees and begins his speech with a simple comparison of love and reason. But halfway through Socrates begins to feel an unexpected eloquence.
Socrates: “And now dear Phaedrus, I shall pause for an instant to ask whether you do not think me, as I appear to myself, inspired?”
Phaedrus: “Yes Socrates, you seem to have a very unusual flow of words.”
Socrates: “Listen to me closely. I may be under the influence of the nymphs who live here, for surely this place is holy.”
Nymphs (as well as dryads, satyrs, and fauns) are a type of nature spirit or “daimon”. In Greek mythology, they are the attendants of the gods and often carry messages for them. They are also protectors and inhabiters of trees, springs, and other beautiful natural places. In fact they are so intimately connected with these places that an ancient Greek might not have distinguished the place from the daimon spirit that occupies and animates it.
In Latin these beings came to be known and revered as the “genius loci” (the divinity of the place). Some had the wild personality of nature itself. Others, like the Roman “agatho daimon” (good spirits) protected vineyards and orchards and were the objects of prayers and offerings.
The Roman Neo-Platonists, who preserved and elaborated on Plato’s writings, held a special reverence for these daimonic beings. According to their philosophy, the human soul connects the spirit and the body. Similarly the world soul connects God (the spiritual) and the Earth (the physical). Daimons live in the in-between space, forming the connection between the spiritual and the material, between gods and men.
In another Platonic dialogue, The Symposium, Socrates states, “Daimons intermediate between gods and mortals, interpreting and conveying the wishes of men to the gods and the will of the gods to men, they stand between the two and only through the daimonic is there contact and conversation between men and gods, whether in waking or in sleep.”
Daimons are themselves archetypes of the in-between: half human, half animal, half plant, sometimes physical and sometimes abstract, living within the psyche and out in the wilderness, constantly transforming themselves. They are paradoxical beings, both good and bad, frightening and guiding, protecting and maddening.
It is unclear to what extent Socrates finds himself actually possessed by a nymph or is just inspired by the beauty and atmosphere of the setting. Perhaps these are the same thing to him. In any case he goes on to deliver a most eloquent speech on the problem of love, in which he argues that the lover shapes the beloved according to his own selfish desires. When he is finished he announces to Phaedrus that he is going to return to Athens.
Socrates: Don’t you see that I am overtaken by the nymphs you have exposed me to by bringing me to this place? I will say no more. I must cross the river and make my way home before some worse thing is inflicted upon me.
However, as Socrates gets up to leave he encounters another spirit, this time his personal daimon, which aurally warns him that he has offended the gods.
Socrates: I was about to cross the stream when my usual divine sign appeared before me, that daimon who forbids me to do error. And I heard a voice in my ear saying that I am guilty of impiety and that I may not leave until I have made some atonement.
Socrates returns to Phaedrus and admits that both of the previous speeches were incorrect. He pledges not to leave the holy tree until he has spoken righteously and then he gives his final speech, a thrilling defense of love.
In Socrates’ final speech he describes the four types of divine madness, which transcend reason. The first is prophecy, the second is mysticism, the third is poetry, and the fourth is love. Socrates demonstrates how each form of transcendent madness elevates the subject from the denseness of the material world toward the beauty of the spiritual world.
But who is this spirit guide that makes Socrates stay and deliver his final magnificent speech? The ancient Greeks believe that every person is connected from birth with their own personal daimon, a transcendent aspects of their psyche that pulls them to their destiny. In Timaeus, Socrates states, “God has conferred upon each of us a guiding daimon, which lifts us from earth toward our celestial affinity, like a plant whose roots are not in the earth, but in the heavens.”
Socrates’ own daimon appears several times in Plato’s dialogues and always changes his viewpoint. It is like an anarchic and inspirational conscience, a lofty spirit guide, which raises him beyond the limitations of his own thinking.
Outside the walls of Athens, the countryside is wild and alive. A collection of spirits imbues the landscape of trees and streams with soul and personality. Likewise there is a living wilderness inside of Socrates, a communion of beings who inspire and transform him. When Socrates finishes his final speech on love, the two friends gather themselves to return to the city.
Socrates: Should we not offer up a prayer to the local deities?
Phaedrus: By all means.
Socrates: Beloved Pan, and all other gods who haunt this place, give me beauty in my soul; and may the outward world and inward world be at one.
Phaedrus: Let us go.
The story begins with Socrates meeting his friend Phaedrus, the title character, on the streets of Athens. Phaedrus is on his way for a walk in the countryside to reflect upon a speech that a famous orator named Lysias gave on the topic of love. Socrates is very interested in hearing and discussing the speech. So, with the promise of sharing the speech, Phaedrus leads Socrates out the city gates, along the Ilissus River, and then to settle under a great tree. It is clear that Socrates does not often leave the city.
Socrates: “Yes indeed, a fair and shady resting place, full of summer sounds and scents. There is the lofty and spreading plane tree, and the agnus castus high and clustering in the fullest blossom and the greatest fragrance. And the stream, which flows beneath the plane tree, is deliciously cold to the feet. Judging from the ornaments and images, this must be a spot sacred to the nymphs. Moreover there is a sweet breeze, and the grasshoppers’ chirrup, and the greatest charm of all is the grass like a pillow gently sloping to the head. Phaedrus, you have been an admirable guide.”
Phaedrus reads Lysias’ speech to Socrates, which is a rather foolish critique of love. Socrates, who is illiterate, is not very impressed by the style of the reading, the composition of the speech, or the strength of the argument. Nonetheless, he does his best to pretend to admire the work of the famous orator. Phaedrus sees through his act and begs Socrates to give a better speech. Socrates agrees and begins his speech with a simple comparison of love and reason. But halfway through Socrates begins to feel an unexpected eloquence.
Socrates: “And now dear Phaedrus, I shall pause for an instant to ask whether you do not think me, as I appear to myself, inspired?”
Phaedrus: “Yes Socrates, you seem to have a very unusual flow of words.”
Socrates: “Listen to me closely. I may be under the influence of the nymphs who live here, for surely this place is holy.”
Nymphs (as well as dryads, satyrs, and fauns) are a type of nature spirit or “daimon”. In Greek mythology, they are the attendants of the gods and often carry messages for them. They are also protectors and inhabiters of trees, springs, and other beautiful natural places. In fact they are so intimately connected with these places that an ancient Greek might not have distinguished the place from the daimon spirit that occupies and animates it.
The Roman Neo-Platonists, who preserved and elaborated on Plato’s writings, held a special reverence for these daimonic beings. According to their philosophy, the human soul connects the spirit and the body. Similarly the world soul connects God (the spiritual) and the Earth (the physical). Daimons live in the in-between space, forming the connection between the spiritual and the material, between gods and men.
In another Platonic dialogue, The Symposium, Socrates states, “Daimons intermediate between gods and mortals, interpreting and conveying the wishes of men to the gods and the will of the gods to men, they stand between the two and only through the daimonic is there contact and conversation between men and gods, whether in waking or in sleep.”
Daimons are themselves archetypes of the in-between: half human, half animal, half plant, sometimes physical and sometimes abstract, living within the psyche and out in the wilderness, constantly transforming themselves. They are paradoxical beings, both good and bad, frightening and guiding, protecting and maddening.
It is unclear to what extent Socrates finds himself actually possessed by a nymph or is just inspired by the beauty and atmosphere of the setting. Perhaps these are the same thing to him. In any case he goes on to deliver a most eloquent speech on the problem of love, in which he argues that the lover shapes the beloved according to his own selfish desires. When he is finished he announces to Phaedrus that he is going to return to Athens.
Socrates: Don’t you see that I am overtaken by the nymphs you have exposed me to by bringing me to this place? I will say no more. I must cross the river and make my way home before some worse thing is inflicted upon me.
However, as Socrates gets up to leave he encounters another spirit, this time his personal daimon, which aurally warns him that he has offended the gods.
Socrates: I was about to cross the stream when my usual divine sign appeared before me, that daimon who forbids me to do error. And I heard a voice in my ear saying that I am guilty of impiety and that I may not leave until I have made some atonement.
Socrates returns to Phaedrus and admits that both of the previous speeches were incorrect. He pledges not to leave the holy tree until he has spoken righteously and then he gives his final speech, a thrilling defense of love.
In Socrates’ final speech he describes the four types of divine madness, which transcend reason. The first is prophecy, the second is mysticism, the third is poetry, and the fourth is love. Socrates demonstrates how each form of transcendent madness elevates the subject from the denseness of the material world toward the beauty of the spiritual world.
But who is this spirit guide that makes Socrates stay and deliver his final magnificent speech? The ancient Greeks believe that every person is connected from birth with their own personal daimon, a transcendent aspects of their psyche that pulls them to their destiny. In Timaeus, Socrates states, “God has conferred upon each of us a guiding daimon, which lifts us from earth toward our celestial affinity, like a plant whose roots are not in the earth, but in the heavens.”
Socrates’ own daimon appears several times in Plato’s dialogues and always changes his viewpoint. It is like an anarchic and inspirational conscience, a lofty spirit guide, which raises him beyond the limitations of his own thinking.
Outside the walls of Athens, the countryside is wild and alive. A collection of spirits imbues the landscape of trees and streams with soul and personality. Likewise there is a living wilderness inside of Socrates, a communion of beings who inspire and transform him. When Socrates finishes his final speech on love, the two friends gather themselves to return to the city.
Socrates: Should we not offer up a prayer to the local deities?
Phaedrus: By all means.
Socrates: Beloved Pan, and all other gods who haunt this place, give me beauty in my soul; and may the outward world and inward world be at one.
Phaedrus: Let us go.
APPENDIX (Types of Daimons)
Nymph: A spirit that lives in beautiful and pure natural places, in particular springs and streams.
Dryad: A tree spirit that often occupies large oak trees and protects the forest.
Satyr: A flute playing companion of Pan and Dionysus, they roam the woods and mountains and inspire revelry, music, and creativity.
Faun: The goat-like Roman counterpart to the Greek Satyr.
