Plato on a catalogue of twenty-five progenitors in the context of Ancient chronology

Abstract

The article discusses a passage from the “Theaetetus” (175a5-6), in which Plato mentions a genealogy catalogue of twenty-five progenetors in connection with a discussion about a true philosopher who is not interested in the fashionable hobbies of modernity, values and preferences of ordinary people. Paying attention to the question of the relationship between the date of composition of the dialogue (the expected date of writing it by Plato) and its dramatic date (the date of the conversation of Socrates), the author of the article raises the question whether the indicated number of twenty-five progenetors can be compared with other generational calculations known in Antiquity. The question is, what date, dramatic date or date of composition is the indicated number more relevant. The article concludes that this fragment from the “Theaetetus”, – according to the author’s opinion, confirming the dramatic date of the dialogue – provides additional material for the question of anachronisms in Plato’s dialogues.