ABSTRACT
The Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) was born in Athens and grew up during the Peloponnesian war (431-404), which concluded with the victory of Athens’ long-time rival Sparta. Towards the end of the fourth century BC, Plato joined the circle of Socrates’ disciples. Socrates proved a most powerful influence on the young Plato, who went on to re-elaborate some of the central ideas of Socratic thought into what can be arguably described as the most influential philosophical system in Western civilization.1 Although the influence of Plato’s teachings has been undisputedly far-reaching and persistent over time, his ideas have never, to my knowledge, been discussed with a view of assessing the extent to which recent and old discourses of cultural policy are indebted to the Athenian philosopher. This paper therefore aims to fill this gap and show that, as a matter of fact, many of the ideas and beliefs that can be seen at work in European cultural policy from its very inception are profoundly indebted to Plato’s ideas on art and poetry, and to his elaboration of the role of the arts in education and political life.
