Published on December 3, 2025 (Episode
Introduction
The Greek philosopher Plato is famous for writing his teachings in the form of dialogues. But there are also a series of seven letters attributed to Plato. Over the centuries, much ink has been spilled over their authenticity. My guest today argues that these letters are in fact an epistolary philosophical novel—and, if nothing else, a “ripping great yarn.”
“In the pages of Plato’s letters,” writes Ariel Helfer, “we find Plato the teacher, the counselor, the ally, the statesman; intrigue and faction in the court of a tyrant; grand political hopes dashed as famous utopian dreams become living nightmares—it is a stunningly dramatic and dynamic portrait of Plato and his philosophy.”
And all this is set in the exotic setting of Hellenized Sicily during the 5th century BC, a world of dizzying cultural and political complexity. If Helfer is right, than in this lost work hiding in plain sight is both an enthralling narrative and a deeply philosophical reflection on what it means to live and think in the midst of politics.
About the Guest
Ariel Helfer is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wayne State University. He is the editor and translator of Plato’s Letters: The Political Challenges of the Philosophic Life (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2024). His previous works include studies on Plato, Aristotle, and Machiavelli, and he was last on Historically Thinking in September 2020 to discuss Plato’s dialogue Alcibiades and the problem of political ambition.
For Further Investigation
Plato, Plato’s Letters: The Political Challenges of the Philosophic Life, ed. and trans. Ariel Helfer (Cornell University Press, 2023)
Ariel Helfer, Socrates and Alcibiades: Plato’s Drama of Political Ambition and Philosophy (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020)
Plato, Alcibiades I, in Plato: Complete Works, ed. John M. Cooper (Hackett, 1997)
Melissa Lane, Plato’s Progeny: How Plato and Socrates Still Captivate the Modern Mind (Bloomsbury, 2001)
Christopher Rowe, Plato and the Art of Philosophical Writing (Cambridge, 2007)
Related Episodes
“What’s the Good of Ambition?”—Ariel Helfer discusses the Athenian philosopher Socrates, and his student the Athenian politician Alcibiades
Reflection Questions
Why might Plato have chosen to write letters rather than dialogues for these particular stories?
What do these letters reveal about Plato’s view of politics and the philosopher’s role in it?
What parallels might exist between Plato’s world and our own political crises?
Tags: Plato; Ariel Helfer; Philosophy; Political Thought; Ancient Greece; Historically Thinking
