Divine pervasion, human response: Corybantism in Plato’s discourse

Abstract

On five different occasions, the Platonic text assimilates various modes of human discourse to the ecstatic rites of the Corybantes. References to Corybantism perform several rhetorical functions. Within their immediate context, they may specifically suggest how to evaluate a given speech or speaker. More generally, they may suggest the necessity for an orderly interaction between human initiative and divine inspiration in order to produce any human discourse aiming at truth. They can thus be considered as markers of some persistent problematic knot within Plato’s thought.