Menexene

The Ménexène (in Greek old Μενέξενος ) is a short dialog of contemporary Plato of the Gorgias . He was probably written a little after -387, date of peace of Antalcidas , last historical event describes in his speech.

In this text, Socrate attacks the Rhétorique. The dialog starts with a conversation between Socrate and the Ménexène young person who is on the point of making his beginnings in the public life. Socrat makes an ironic praise of the eloquence of pageantry, and in particular of the épitaphioi , speech in the honor of the dead soldiers to the war. Socrat recites itself then a funeral oration, which comes according to him from its mistress from rhetoric, Aspasie, mistress of Périclès. This speech forms the essence of the dialog.

This dialog supplements the Gorgias which attacks the political and legal eloquence. There is however no lesson , only one pastiche of épitaphios intended to show the vacuity of the kind which rests on “strings” that no matter who, so much is not very skilful, can handle. It thus discredits the function of speaker and separates it from that which conceives the speech (Aspasie, as a woman and foreign, would never have had the right to pronounce the épitaphios ). It is noted that the speech of Socrate is truffle of inaccuracies or historical errors, even of inconsistencies (largest being to quote peace of Antalcidas being held more than 10 years after the death of the philosopher), thus reinforcing the image of parody of the discursive practice.

The funeral oration ( épitaphios logos )

It seems to be a tradition in the Athenian city to commemorate the war victims annually. This one is brought back in particular by Thucydide. Rare, however, are the specimens preserved of the speeches made at this occasion: one can quote that of Périclès (in fact a transcription by Thucidyde), that allotted to Démosthène as well as extracts of others less known.

The character of Ménexène

Although city on different occasions by Plato, one does not know large-thing of him, with share which it is resulting from a relatively easy family. It appears as a teenager in the Lysis like friend of this last, like in the Phédon .

The structure of the speech

It can be divided into two parts, the second a little shorter:

the praise with deaths begin by a characterization from the Athenian ground and a panegyric from education from the young citizen. He continues with the evocation of all the combat of the city: medic Wars, civil war, thus praising the loneliness and the size of Athens.
councils with the alive ones.

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