Vallambhatla 1

Atharv Vallambhatla

Honors Literature

Mr. Meadows

1/30/22

Over the course of the Republic, the esteemed philosopher and war hero, Socrates, discusses the

building of a just utopia with his students. Socrates aims to weed out all detriments to the Republic and

encourage all benefactors. One of his main concerns is the luxuries of poetry and how it can only

damage society. Socrates raises many problems with poetry specifically, how it imitates gods and

heroes. Socrates criticizes the poetry of ancient Greece for dangerous imitative concepts that will only

harm the just and perfect Republic Socrates is envisioning with his students.

Socrates includes in his criticisms that the poets are dangerously preaching harmful concepts

without censorship. In ancient Greece, gods were viewed as beings who could do no wrong and were

perfect in every way. However, poetry is depicting them committing unlawful and heinous actions

which should be impossible for a perfect being such as Chryses “begging Agamemnon to release his

daughter” (Plato 63). If gods are just and perfect beings and gods are performing unlawful actions that

should mean the unlawful actions are just and beneficial then. This would cause the downfall of

Socrates’s city if people were have a “considerable tolerance to evil” believing it to be just as they are

imitating the just gods ( Plato 62). This contradiction could also go the other direction saying that these

actions are not just, the poets say the gods are just, therefore the poets are lying which is a virtue that

will only harm the republic.

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In order to tell these stories the poets must imitate the gods and other characters in their stories.

Imitative poetry will only ever be a copy of gods and heroes and does not bring value or knowledge to

society. Socrates proves this claim with an analogy of three beds. The god who created the first bed is

the one true maker of a bed which “exists in nature” and has the full knowledge of the bed(Plato 241).

The craftsman who “is an imitator of that which the others made” only copies what exists in

nature(Plato 242). However, the painter can only “make them appear but... not make them as they truly

are”(Plato 241. Therefore, imitation can provide no knowledge to a society and only deceives the

public. If the poetry does not provide the right opinion or teach If an item has no marginal benefit and

is in fact dangerous it should not be allowed in a city.

However, Socrates himself becomes a poet to prove a point. Socrates talks about the myth of Er

to encourage his citizens to do the just action. The myth of Er in short shows that people get their

treatment after death by either a “tenfold penalty” or a “reward on the same sale”(Plato 258). This myth

was not created to inform people of the proceedings of the underworld but to motivate them into living

just lives forming a just society. This shows that lies are only just unjust or just by circumstance as the

myth of Er will form a just society. Although this can not be a perfect world if it is founded on a lie so

the Republic is impossible

Over of the course of Plato’s Republic, Socrates discusses with his students the laws and and

rules needed to build a just city. Socrates talks about the luxury of imitative poetry and how it has no

benefits and only exists to harm people. It’s lack of censorship will lead to people being encouraged to

commit heinous acts which will only harm the society. The imitation of gods and heroes involved in
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poetry offers no right opinion or knowledge as it is just a copy of the gods and heroes so it only exists

to devieve people. However Socrates himself tells poetry to prove a point and better his society. This

shows how the utopia Socrates envisions is impossible as he shows how the deception of poetry is

required to benefit the Republic.