The Phaedrus

Translated by Thomas Taylor, with introductory essays by Tim Addey and David Nowakowski. The Phaedrus is an important part of the Platonic corpus: standing as a beautiful and profound dialogue in its own right, it was also incorporated as a part of the structured reading syllabus of twelve dialogues in the Platonic schools of late antiquity from the time of Iamblichus onward. It offers its readers a wide-ranging picture of the nature of the soul and its journey through the beautiful cosmos. To the dialogue (as translated by Thomas Taylor), the Prometheus Trust has added six introductory essays as well as Taylor’s translation of Hermias’ demonstration of the immortality of the soul, as presented by Socrates at the start of his inspired palinode. The essays are: The Scope and Structure of the Phaedrus Hermias on Inspiration A Platonic Demonstration of the Immortality of the Soul Self-motion in Metaphysics: Descent and Ascent The Journey of the Soul The Oral Tradition in Platonism Appr