Ancient parchment reveals new version of Plato’s death – 05/08/2024 – Science

Plato (429-347 BC) is perhaps one of the most famous philosophers of all time. He was the thinker who created the theory of forms and founded the first academic institution. However, we know little about his life, such as how he died or even where he is buried.

But recent new research on Herculaneum papyri carried out by The Greek Philosophical Schools-project in Italy has provided new answers to these questions.

The charred papyrus scrolls, discovered in the 18th century in a Roman villa located near Herculaneum (between Naples and Pompeii) and known as Villa dei Papyri, contain much knowledge that we have not yet discovered.

The library’s owner appears to have had a great interest in Greek philosophy, especially that of Epicurus, and collected a substantial quantity of papyrus scrolls.

Reading the 1,800 parchments, however, proved quite challenging. Although their charring after the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 preserved the scrolls, they are too fragile and too troublesome to unroll.

Among these scrolls is a book by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus of Gadara (1st century BC) on the history of Greek philosophy, entitled “Arrangement of the Philosophers”.

Over the past two centuries, several editions of the book have been published, although much of the text has remained illegible. However, thanks to hyperspectral imaging, it became possible to distinguish between the black ink and the dark surface of the charred papyrus. We can now read around 30% more than we could previously.

This newly accessible installment on the history of Plato’s school, the Academy, includes information about the location of Plato’s tomb and his death around 348 BC.

From other sources, we had already gathered that Plato was buried somewhere on the grounds of the Academy, a semi-public park-like area outside the city walls of ancient Athens, which Plato had purchased and where he maintained his school.

According to the new edition of the papyrus, it appears that Plato “was buried in the garden near the ‘mouseion'”. This garden was a more private part of the Academy, while the “mouseion” refers to a sanctuary of the muses, the goddesses of music and harmony, that Plato himself had erected.

However, before people rush out to dig Plato’s tomb, a word of caution is in order. As the text’s editor, the Italian classicist Kilian Fleischer, admits with scholarly candor, his reading of the crucial Greek word “etaphê” (“was buried”) is by no means certain.

Be that as it may, a location close to the “mouseion” would be quite suitable, as music plays an important role in Plato’s philosophy. In his great work “The Republic”, Plato insists on the place of music in the education of young people.

Listening to the right kind of music, and especially the right rhythms, would have a beneficial influence on the soul, he said. In his final work, “Laws”, Plato uses the expression “anêr mousikos“literally “a man of the muses”, to refer to a man who possesses an elite education, the kind that was promoted by the Academy.

Plato’s fondness for the muses sheds light on Philodemus’ story about Plato’s death, another part of the papyrus that we can now read much better.

According to Philodemus, late in Plato’s life he developed a fever and fell into a delirious state. When a Thracian girl, who was playing the flute – perhaps to comfort him – got the rhythm wrong, Plato seemed to regain consciousness and complained that the girl, because of her barbarian origin (probably not Greek), couldn’t get it right.

The exchange of words was much to the liking of Plato’s companion, who, from this brief revival, concluded that Plato’s condition was not that critical. Even so, he died shortly afterwards.

This is not the only story we have about Plato’s death. According to Diogenes Laertius, author of another history of Greek philosophy entitled “Lives and Doctrines of the Illustrious Philosophers”, Plato died at a wedding banquet or, alternatively, because of lice.

So what is the likelihood that the specific story of Philodemus, for which we know of no other sources, is true?

There are reasons to suspect. The deaths of ancient philosophers should reflect their lives and teachings. Otherwise, posterity would be happy to invent a suitable deathbed scene.

So this newly discovered story about how Plato, even in his feverish state, remained a shrewd judge of all things musical, a true servant of the Muses, probably tells us more about how the Academy wished to remember its founder than how he really died.

_{This text was published in The Conversation. Click here to see the original version}