La lettura di Nicole Loraux del Menesseno platonico

The aim of this contribution is to analyse some of the peculiar aspects of Loraux’s interpretation of the Plato’s Menexenus. In particular, it will focus on the conception according to which the purpose of the λόγος ἐπιτάφιος pronounced by Socrates in the Platonic dialogue is to emphasise the contrast between the discourse of the rhetoricians and that of the philosophers. Although they seem to be close in musical cadence and persuasive character, what divides them is the τέλος which, in the case of philosophy, is represented by the search for truth.