The ''Sisyphus'' (; el, Σίσυφος) is purported to be one of the

dialogues of 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 ...

. The dialogue is extant and was included in the Stephanus edition published in Geneva in 1578. It is now generally acknowledged to be spurious. The work probably dates from the fourth century BCE, and the author was presumably a pupil of

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 ...

.D.S. Hutchinson, introduction to "Sisyphus," in John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson (eds.), ''Plato, Complete works'', Indianapolis: Hackett, 1997, pp. 1707-8.

Synopsis

It is a dialogue between

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 te ...

and Sisyphus of Pharsalus. Sisyphus believes that deliberation allows one to find the best course of action, but Socrates is puzzled by what deliberation is, and why it is supposed to be different from guesswork. By the end of the dialogue, it becomes clear that Sisyphus does not know what deliberation is. The dialogue seems to engage with an idea of good deliberation (''euboulia'') for which Isocrates was a noted exponent. The author uses the term ''dialegesthai'' in an un-Platonic fashion to refer, not to dialectic, but to what Plato considered

eristic In philosophy and rhetoric, eristic (from '' Eris'', the ancient Greek goddess of chaos, strife, and discord) refers to an argument that aims to successfully dispute another's argument, rather than searching for truth. According to T.H. Irwin, "It ...

Dating

argues that the ''Sisyphus'' can be dated securely to the middle third of the fourth century BC, and, assuming that the reference to "Callistratus" is to

Callistratus of Aphidnae Kallistratos of Aphidnae ( grc, Καλλίστρατος, Latinized: Callistratus; bef. 415–aft. 355 BCE) was an Athenian orator and general in the 4th century BCE. Family We know little of his background, though he appears to have been of the ...

, to the period between Callistratus' death sentence in 361 and his execution (by 350), when no one needed to ask "Who is Callistratus?" but Callistratus' constantly changing location in exile made "Where is Callistratus?" a real question. Francesco Aronadio also dates the work to Plato's lifetime and places it within the circle of the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional ...

had opined that the ''Sisyphus'' could perhaps have been produced in the

Megarian school The Megarian school of philosophy, which flourished in the 4th century BC, was founded by Euclides of Megara, one of the pupils of Socrates. Its ethical teachings were derived from Socrates, recognizing a single good, which was apparently combin ...

. The dialogue is freely paraphrased in

Dio Chrysostom Dio Chrysostom (; el, Δίων Χρυσόστομος ''Dion Chrysostomos''), Dion of Prusa or Cocceianus Dio (c. 40 – c. 115 AD), was a Greek orator, writer, philosopher and historian of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Eighty of his ...

'
''On Deliberation'' (oration 26)
the earliest instance of a famous author making reference to a work of the ''Appendix Platonica'' ('' notheuomenoi'').C.W. Müller, "''Appendix Platonica'' und Neue Akademie: Die pseudoplatonischen Dialoge ''Über die Tugend'' und ''Alkyon''," in Döring, Erler, and Schorn (eds.), ''Pseudoplatonica'' (Stuttgart, 2005), p. 155.

Notes

External links

''Sisyphus''
translated by George Burges
Free public domain audiobook version of ''Sisyphus
translated by George Burges * . Collection includes Sisyphus.

George Burges George Burges (; 1786 – 11 January 1864) was an English classical scholar who published translations of the works of Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Plato. Biography Burges was born in Bengal, India, and was probably the son of Thomas B ...

, translator (1855). Dialogues of Plato {{philo-book-stub