''Halcyon'' ( grc-gre, Ἀλκυών) is a short dialogue attributed in the manuscripts to both

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed supersti ...

, but the work is not by either writer.

Favorinus Favorinus (c. 80 – c. 160 AD) was a Roman sophist and academic skeptic philosopher who flourished during the reign of Hadrian and the Second Sophistic. Early life He was of Gaulish ancestry, born in Arelate (Arles). He received a ref ...

, writing in the early second century, attributes it to a certain Leon, as did Nicias of Nicaea.

Content

In the dialogue,

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no t ...

relates to Chaerephon the ancient myth of

Halcyon Halcyon is a name originally derived from Alcyone of Greek mythology. Halcyon or Halcyone may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''Halcyon'' (TV series), a Virtual Reality murder mystery on SyFy * '' The Halcyon'', British period ...

, a woman who was transformed by the gods into a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

to be able to search the seas for her husband Ceyx, who was lost at sea. Skeptical of the account, Chaerephon questions the possibility that humans can be transformed into birds. In response, Socrates cautions that there are many amazing things unknown or at least not fully understood by humans, and advocates epistemological humility for mortals in light of the gods' abilities or, more generally, in light of what humans do not know. For comparison, Socrates refers to a bad storm that recently took place and was immediately followed by a sudden calm. Such a sudden transformation is all at once amazing, real, and beyond the power of humans to effect. He also points out the vast differences in strength and intelligence between adults and children, with the latter often being incapable of comprehending what adults can do. Both analogies, taken together, support the possibility that the gods may indeed have the ability to transform humans into birds, which process is simply not understood by humans, as opposed to being impossible. Socrates concludes by resolving to pass the myth down to his children as it was communicated to him, and especially with the hope that it will inspire his wives Xanthippe and

Myrto Myrto (; el, Μυρτώ; fl. 5th century BC) was, according to some accounts, a wife of Socrates. Sources The original source for the claim that she was Socrates' wife appears to have been a work by Aristotle called ''On Being Well-Born'',At ...

to remain devoted to him. As is stated at its conclusion, the conversation is conducted in the port of

Phaleron Phalerum or Phaleron ( ''()'', ; ''()'', ) was a port of Ancient Athens, 5 km southwest of the Acropolis of Athens, on a bay of the Saronic Gulf. The bay is also referred to as "Bay of Phalerum" ( el, Όρμος Φαλήρου '').'' The ...

, also the narrative setting of Plato's ''

Symposium In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...

''.

Inclusion

The text was included in the first-century Platonic canon of

Thrasyllus of Mendes Thrasyllus of Mendes (; grc-gre, Θράσυλλος ), also known as Thrasyllus of AlexandriaLevick, ''Tiberius: The Politician'', p. 7 and by his Roman name Tiberius Claudius ThrasyllusLevick, ''Tiberius: The Goat '', p. 137 (fl. second ha ...

but had been expunged prior to the Stephanus pagination and is thus rarely found in modern collections of Plato although it appears in Hackett's ''Complete Works''. It is often still included among the spurious works of Lucian. John Madison Cooper, D. S. Hutchinson, eds., ''Plato, Complete works'', Indianapolis, Indiana, Hackett Publishing, 1997, , p. 1714

Texts and translations

* Macleod, M. D., ''Lucian'', Vol. VIII (Harvard University Press, 1967). (Greek and English) * Stief, Jake E., ''Halcyon'' (Stief Books, 2018). (English)

Notes

Dialogues of Plato Works by Lucian {{Greek-myth-stub