Generation as μίμησις and κόσμος as μίμημα: cosmological model, productive function and the arrangement of the χώρα in Plato’s Timaeus

In this paper I will discuss the ‘mimetic’ language and conceptual apparatus by which Plato in the Timaeus describes the generation of the sensible universe. I start (1) by describing the way the universe comes to be and the beings playing a role in its generation (27d–29d). Next, I show (2) how the generation of the universe, which basically amounts to the production of a sensible copy reproducing an intelligible model, consists in the ordering of a pre-existing material, i.e. in an imitation (μίμησις) of the model (48e–51b; 52d–53b). Finally, I attempt to determine (3) in what sense and to what extent the generated universe is a sensible copy, i.e. an imitation (μίμημα) of the intelligible model (53b).