Atene a processo. L’uso politico della storia nel Gorgia e nel Menesseno di Platone (la prima come «tragedia», la seconda come «farsa»)

In Plato's political philosophy, usually accused of utopian tendency, the most careful reflection is placed on Athenian politics of the fourth century. Examples are the Gorgias and the Menexenus, which represent, in theatrical form, as typically happened in Athens, political premises and historical effects of imperialism. In these dialogues Plato presents the theses of the supporters of the war against Sparta and implements a form of confutation that is not intra-logical, but counterfactual, through a complex «game» of textual references to the tragedy, especially Euridpidean (the Gorgias) and the Attic comedy (the Menexenus). In this sense, the anachronisms that are encountered in the two works are perfectly understood.