Plato's theory of inspiration

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I've got this.

Relevant dialogue: Ion.

Every art is made possible by the science or knowledge of its subject matter by the artist, which knowledge is put to practice in the artist's activity. "Art" here meaning: medicine, painting, ship building, flute playing, etc. But poets, when asked what is the subject matter of their art, and how it's done, are unable to answer. Thus they don't know their art by means of a science or knowledge of their subject matter. Rather they are inspired by some god or muse.

When one is inspired, the same loses his faculties and lets as it were the muse or God speak as it were through him. But when a poet sings or recites, say Homer, his inspiration is "second hand", because the original inspiration was given to Homer. But Homer got his inspiration from a muse, and the muse from a god. Socrates then compares inspiration to magnetism. The God is like the loadstone, the source of inspiration, and chain of muses and poets that receive his inspiration are like many iron rings hanging from a magnet. Only the first ring touches the magnet directly, the second ring touches the first ring, the third the second, etc. forming a chain.

Later Platonist Proclus used the same analogy with regard to the philosophy of Plato, claiming it didn't have human, but divine origin. The first link in the chain, Orpheus, received the philosophy directly from the god; then Pythagoras got it from Orpheus and Plato from Pythagoras, etc. Thus he called Platonism the Golden Chain, a name which Marsilio Ficino was still using in the Renaissance of himself and his school, and Thomas Aquinas used the term to refer to the Catholic apostolic tradition from Jesus to the prophets to himself.

Plato is famous for banning Homer from his ideal politeia or "republic". Homer, claimed Plato, would undermine the piety among the youth because of the way he portrays the gods, with their many adulteries, patricides, etc.

Proclus, however, returns to Plato's theory of inspiration laid out in the Ion in order to "save" Homer, in a context of declining Hellenic culture and rise of Christianity.

Plato's ban on Homer, claims Proclus, was only meant for the youth, because they were too young to understand the "secret, philosophical meaning" of Homer (which philosophy happened to be identical with Plato's), and would only get the literal meaning. Since, according to Plato, poets were inspired by the gods, they could not possibly say impious and erroneous things about the gods, but hid their meaning from the profane speaking in parables and metaphors. Only adults properly trained in philosophy could interpret the "right" meaning of Homer.

The same strategy of interpreting otherwise embarrassing texts in the light of Plato's philosophy was employed by the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria and the early Christian Church Fathers. Augustine writes in the Confessions that he was scandalized by the OT of the bible before someone taught him the way to interpret its "spiritual meaning", that is, Platonism.

Do you own homework.

Gee OP, no need to thank me...

>>2345098
not OP, thnx cupcake, this is very useful <3333333

>>2345098
Thanks mate! Not op btw

>>2343796
>Thomas Aquinas used the term to refer to the Catholic apostolic tradition from Jesus to the prophets to himself.

I smell bullshit.

>>2345612
http://dhspriory.org/thomas/CAMatthew.htm