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Teochihuani Nathanael Kenzler

Professor Grogg

English 110

4 November 2021

A Dark Spaces Effect on the Mind

As the famous human rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. once proclaimed, “Only when

it is dark enough can we see the stars” (King). The aforementioned quote validates the idea that

people sometimes require a dark place to find the inspiration to see the light, both literally and

metaphorically. Kings’ thoughts, along with those of Wright and Ustinova, support the idea that

dark places such as caves and grottoes can help people come about unexplainable conclusions,

but often those findings are what give way for great change in oneself. In their writings, “The

Origin of Plato’s Cave” and “Caves and the Greek Quest for the Divine Truth,” both John Henry

Wright and Yulia Ustinova work to identify the true steps leading to the creation behind Plato’s

famous story “Allegory of the Cave” by analyzing the life of Plato himself and all things relating

to caves.

In “The Origin of Plato’s Cave,” John Henry Wright acknowledges the previous

conclusions made in regard to “Allegory of the Cave,” yet argues that there is still exploration to

be done in order to uncover the meaning in Plato’s’ allegory to its entirety. Wright begins his

article by breaking down the story literally, creating a sense of how foreign the world must have

been at first glance to the freed prisoner. The author proceeds to then talk about what the prisoner

must have thought when he took his first look outside of the cave. Wright then transitions to

what caused Plato to come up with such an allegory and mentions the sixth book in Plato’s The

Republic. In this sixth book, Plato continues to describe the different types of knowledge and the
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characteristics of their beholders; leading Wright to assert that those imaginative beings we call

the prisoners are of the lowest form of knowledge and overall comprehension of life. Wright

continues to question the inspiration of Plato’s elaborate setting, and finally concludes that the

pre-Socratic Greek philosopher known as Empedocles impressed many of the images shared in

“Allegory of the Cave.” Though, it is important to note that Wright does not believe the setting

of “Allegory of the Cave” is directly copied from any one source as it is undeniably unique. The

environment does not share enough characteristics with Empedocles work to be thought of as

simply a mirror image of one of his works. From this, Wright determines that Plato’s work is

entirely his own and assumes that Plato must have just found it simple to represent mankind’s

existence in the small, dark cave.

Though Wright concludes that Plato’s work is not just him rewording the work of others,

he begins to think geographically of what may have brought on the idea of the cave to fruition.

John Henry Wright makes the interesting point that within Greek territories, there existed a

limited number of caves which were famous to most, if not all Athenians. One of which, known

as the Quarry-Grottoes of Syracuse, was home to prisoners in chains such as those in “Allegory

of the Cave.” Regardless of the fact that many differences did exist such as the cave of Syracuse

not being in the earth itself, it is apparent that Socrates may have taken some of his inspiration

for the context of the story from the Quarry-Grottoes. Wright also identifies another cave known

as the Cave of Vari, which is almost exactly like the one described in Plato’s writing. The Cave

of Vari was just like the that of the “Allegory of the Cave” in the way that it was built below the

surface of the earth, the floor rose towards the back of the cave, and that there was a raised

platform. Wright goes so far as to say the only difference was in the shape of the floor plan being

like an isosceles triangle in the actual cave versus that of a rectangle in “Allegory of the Cave.”
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Wright concludes his analysis by stating that Plato underwent a traditional rite of passage by

journeying to a cave, which was likely the same Cave of Vari, with his parents in his infancy.

From this, one could assume that he likely made a return to this site in his older ages, leaving a

picture ingrained in his mind of such a personally important location.

Yulia Ustinova uses the first chapter, “Caves and the Greek Quest for the Divine Truth”

to state her goal of recognizing the impact caves have had on the thoughts of the people who

entered said caves. The novel begins with Ustinova introducing the different images people have

held of caves and just exactly what they could do or bring about. For example, she details how

caves were used for shelter; places where treasure could be hidden, they could be mysterious,

fear inducing, but most importantly caves were always inspiring. Ustinova elaborates on how in

countless different Greek mythology stories there is often reference to a cave. A lot of the times,

caves bring about some sort of important chain of events. A cave might act as a prison, a kitchen,

birthplace, and more, but there is often a cave involved in some capacity. Yet, it is worth noting

that Ustinova does not claim that caves are always the catalyst when seeking the “ultimate truth,”

yet it cannot be a coincidence that often caves helped many see the whole and ultimate truth.

According to the author, caves are sometimes given credit for their supernatural-like qualities,

but it is often discredited right after while attributing a given enlightening realization or

occurrence to nature as a whole, rather than the cave itself. Moreover, Greeks often credited

intense mental experiences as intervention or even full mind and body possession from one of

their many gods. The early Greek culture did not believe in wisdom coming from humans alone;

it was believed that any greater thoughts were made possible solely due to the work of their gods.

Socrates himself claimed that true wisdom and knowledge could only be ascertained when a

mortal ceased to live and joined the realm of the immortals or higher beings. It was argued that
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the soul had to be disconnected from the body entirely; subsequently the Greeks developed

methods which they believed liberated the souls. Many of the practices to disconnect the soul

were done in either caves or dark spaces. At the end of her first chapter, Ustinova states her

following work is in effort to prove her aforementioned argument, a work stating that caves are

the medium which help those seeking enlightenment in their search for the ultimate and divine

truth.

The works of John Henry Wright and Yulia Ustinova alike illustrate the implications of

caves on Socrates short story “Allegory of the Cave,” and on people’s thoughts in general.

Wright works to find the inspiration Socrates used for the scenario built upon the unique cave

which held his hypothetical prisoners. After investigating both sources, it becomes clear that not

only did Plato not come up with the entire idea solely in his head, but arguably much of the

inspiration came from actual Athenian caves and grottoes. After this is recognized, it becomes

clear that Ustinova cites Wright because his discoveries and analysis of Plato’s allegory perfectly

exemplify her hypothesis. Ustinova believes that it is largely caves themselves which have a sort

of intangible ability to bring about intense and arguably genius conclusions. As Wright states, it

was likely the Cave of Vari which printed the perfect and unforgettable picture of what Socrates

allegory should look like, thus proving Ustinova’s point undoubtedly. After Wright lays the

perfect foundation for Ustinova’s thoughts, Ustinova takes it further by identifying multiple

examples of how caves not only influenced the thoughts of Socrates, but also the thoughts of

many of the people in Greek culture and mythology. Together, both articles identify not only

what led to the inspiration and creation of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” but also demonstrate

the point that dark places, specifically caves, have the ability of creating visions in the head of

those who enter them, which can sometimes lead to crucial realizations.
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Works Cited

Luther King, Martin. “A Quote from I've Been to the Mountaintop.” Goodreads, Goodreads,

2015, www.goodreads.com/quotes/7454025-only-when-it-is-dark-enough-can-we-see-the.

Ustinova, Yulia. Caves and the ancient Greek mind: Descending underground in the search for

ultimate truth. Oxford University Press on Demand, 2009.

Wright, John Henry. "The origin of Plato's Cave." Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 17

(1906): 131-142.