Résumé
Résumé de Ménexène
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers of Plato who love a puzzle, and anyone curious about Athenian public life, speeches and propaganda.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Menexenus is a short dialogue by Plato, written in the early fourth century BC, probably after 387 BC. It opens with a brief chat between Socrates and a young man named Menexenus. Then it turns into something unusual for Plato: a speech in praise of Athenians who died in war. Socrates says he learned it from Aspasia, the famous partner of the statesman Pericles.
Why would Plato write this? Some readers take the speech as a sincere tribute. Others hear a joke, a pointed parody of the way Athens honored its dead and flattered itself. In this summary you will meet the setting, the speech and its main moves, and the reasons scholars still argue over its tone. You will also see how the dialogue connects to Plato's larger worry about speakers who please a crowd without caring for the truth. Let us begin where Socrates does, with a question about who gets to speak over the dead.
Dans ce résumé
- 1Praise is easy when the crowd agreesFree
- 2Borrowed words from a famous teacher
- 3The city born from its own soil
- 4History as an unbroken line of glory
- 5The dead speak to their sons and parents
- 6Parody or tribute, and how it lasted
Point clé 1 sur 6
Praise is easy when the crowd agrees
The dialogue begins when Socrates meets Menexenus, a young man who has just come from the council chamber in Athens. Menexenus has political ambitions, and he says the council is about to choose a speaker for the public funeral of citizens killed in war. The choice has not yet been made. Socrates responds with a mix of curiosity and teasing.
He remarks that dying in battle seems to bring a man a fine funeral, even if he was poor or ordinary. Speakers, he says, then take over. They praise the dead, the city and the ancestors in such rich words that the listeners feel taller for hours afterward. Socrates admits that he himself feels a little bigger and nobler after hearing such a speech.
This is the first main idea. Praise works best when the speaker flatters the very people who are listening. Socrates adds that it is easy to praise Athenians when you stand among Athenians, and hard to do so before strangers. The crowd supplies the approval in advance.
For a modern reader, the point is familiar. Ceremonial speech does not mainly inform. It builds a shared pride and a sense that the audience belongs to something grand. Plato wants us to notice how little a listener checks the facts while that mood is working.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Socrates
- The philosopher talks with Menexenus and presents a funeral speech he claims to have learned from Aspasia.
- Menexenus
- A young Athenian with political ambitions, he asks Socrates about the selection and preparation of public speakers.
- Aspasia
- The partner of Pericles, she is presented by Socrates as his teacher and the source of his speech.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 10,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 40 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about Ménexène
What is Menexenus about?
It is a short dialogue in which Socrates speaks with a young man, then recites a funeral oration for Athenian war dead that he says Aspasia composed. The speech praises Athens and consoles the families of the fallen.
Who was Aspasia in Menexenus?
Aspasia was a woman of Miletus who lived in Athens and was the partner of the statesman Pericles. Socrates names her as his teacher of rhetoric and as the author of the speech he recites.
Is the funeral oration in Menexenus meant to be serious or a joke?
Scholars disagree. Some see parody, because the speech flatters Athens and includes events after Socrates died. Others see a sincere patriotic speech. The playful frame leaves both readings open.
When was Menexenus written?
It was written in the early fourth century BC. The speech mentions the peace of 387 BC, so Plato must have composed it after that date, years after Socrates's death.
Is Menexenus hard to read?
No, it is one of Plato's shorter and easier works. The language is clear and the speech follows a simple order.