La Philosophie Delphique de Plutarque. L'Itineraire Des Dialogues Pythiques

Today there is no longer any doubt that Plutarch of Chaeronea (c. AD 45-125) represents a striking figure in the history of Platonism. The Moralia contain several texts essential to our understanding of Platonism during the imperial age. Although an astonishing thinker, Plutarch was not just a philosopher. He assumed the duties of a priest of the Delphic temple, a highly honoured office, around AD 96. This encounter between the Platonist philosopher and the priest of Delphi translated into a unique series of texts traditionally compiled under the name “Pythian Dialogues,” consisting of On the ‘E’ at Delphi, The Pythian Oracles, and Oracles in Decline.This book provides an analysis of those Pythian Dialogues which underscores the logical, as well as Pythian, nature of the texts. Each dialogue studied is presented as though it were a shared research effort delving into a Delphic reality. However, this inquiry is not of a religious nature and the arguments deployed by Plutarch draw upon specifically Platonic themes. This constitutes a primary characteristic of the Pythian Dialogues, which offer an unprecedented synthesis between the site of Delphi and Platonic discourse. The Delphic context allows Plutarch to ponder on gods and mortals, as well as the intermediate figures standing between both realms who make divination possible – the perfect expression of divine providence. As readers explore the sanctuary, as well as the arguments, they witnesses Plutarch engaged in a constant dialogue with the rival doctrines of Epicureanism and Stoicism. They thus discover texts in which philosophy admits a defence of the sanctuary and the site of Delphi itself becomes fertile ground for study, dialogue and, in short, philosophy. Thanks to the Pythian Dialogues, the Delphi sanctuary is not only the centre of the world, but also the nucleus of an authentic philosophic wisdom.