History of Plato site updates (original) (raw)

If you want to know what happened on the site since your last visit, here is what you are looking for. Following is a list of major updates with the date they first appeared and a direct link to the corresponding pages.

• April 8, 2026: Addition to the page on the analogy of the line (Republic, VI, 509c5-511e5) of the translation from the French of the Introduction to both the analogy of the line and the allegory of the cave showing that both "images" complement one another and should be read in parallel and highlighting a consistent understanding of both far remote from the usual understanding of the supposed "Theory of forms/ideas" wrongly ascribed to Plato
• February 15, 2026: First stage of the translation into English of my annotated translations of key sections of the Republic (parallel between the good and the sun, analogy of the line, allegory of the cave, definition of dialektikè, discussion on the three kinds of beds), witht the translation under the title The three kinds (eidè) of seats (beds) : What a name is the name of ? of Republic, X, 595c7-598d6, a section that is key to understanding what eidos and idea mean for Platon and what is the difference between both, along with a preliminary version of the pages on the parallel between the good and the sun (Republic VI, 504e7-509c4), the analogy of the line (Republic, VI, 509c5-511e5), the allegory of the cave (Republic VII, 514a1-517a7) and Socrates comments on it (Republic, VII, 517a8-519d7), and the definition of dialektikè (Republic, VII, 531c9-535a2), includint only the translations, taken from Plato (the philosopher): User's Guide (pdf), the introductions and notes coming later, once translated from the French
• January 31, 2026: Updated version of the Lexicon of Greek words important for understanding Plato based on the latest version of the French version (that of June 13, 2023), which takes into account my new understanding of the section of the Republic at the beginning of book X dealing with tables and beds (Republic X, 595c7-598d6) explaining how we should understand eidos and idea and the difference Plato makes between those two words
• June 27, 2025: Addition of a foreword at the beginning of my paper called Plato: the Essentials summarizing the changes I made to the French original in June, 2023, which I have not yet translated into English, mainly my new understanding of the section of the Republic at the beginning of book X dealing with tables and beds (Republic X, 595c7-598d6) explaining how we should understand eidos and idea and the difference Plato makes between those two words, which deals a fatal blow to Plato's supposed "Theory of Forms/Idea" as usually understood.
• April 26, 2021: A new version of Plato: the Essentials (pdf), including an enriched and revised version of appendix 2, Lexicon of Greek words important for understanding Plato, which is now also available as a stand-alone web page
• June 27th, 2017: The translation in English by me of a paper I originally wrote in French (French title: Platon, l'essentiel) titled in English Plato: the Essentials (pdf file, 449 Kb), which provides, in less than twenty pages an overview of the main suggestions Plato submits to our critical examination in the dialogues, followed by a lexicon of Greek words important for understanding Plato added July 7th, 2017
• April 21st, 2017: The translation in English by me of a paper I originally wrote in French (French title: Platon, mode d'emploi) titled in English "Plato (the philosopher): User's Guide" (pdf file, about 1,7 Mb), providing a comprehensive overview of my understanding of Plato's dialogues, including a presentation of each dialogue and a translation by me of five key sections of the Republic: the parallel between good and sun (Rep. VI, 504e7-509c4), the analogy of the line (Rep. VI, 509c5-511e5), the allegory of the cave (Rep. VII, 514a1-517a7), its commentary by Socrates (Rep. VII, 517a8-519b7) and the definition of to dialegesthai (Rep. VII, 531c9-535a2) (the paper is about 150 pages plus about 50 pages of appendixes)
• March 23rd, 2015: Suppression of all links to Amazon.com
• January 24th, 2015: A paper in English titled "Can we see the sun?" (pdf file), detailing my understanding of the allegory of the cave (Republic VII, 514a1-517a7), the analogy of the line (Republic, VI, 509c5-511e5) and the parallel between good and sun (République, VI, 504e7-509c) and the consequences it has on the general understanding of Plato's dialogues
• March 8, 2009: A page with pictures dedicated to the Stephanus edition of Plato's complete works published in 1578 which still serves as a reference to quote Plato
• August 22, 2007: Technical update of all links to the Republic and Laws at Perseus to include the book number in the link, which was not needed in an earlier version of the site
• December 14, 2001: A bibliography on and around Plato with links, in that page, in the page on Plato's works, and elsewhere, toward appropriate pages at Amazon.com for online purchase of the books listed in those pages
• September 16, 2001: A page that shows what a "book" might have looked like in Plato's time, along with a commented translation in French of the analogy of the line form Republic, VI, added to translations of other sections of the Republic
• December 24, 2000: A new commented translation in French of the Meno: for those who read French, with lots of footnotes and separate comments.
• September 21, 1997: Revised and expanded note on Socrates' last words in the Overview of the Phædo : this expanded note explores in greater details the multiple meanings of Socrates' last words and relates them to the Alcibiades, Symposium, Apology, and to the definition of justice provided by Cephalus at the start of the Republic.
• September 7, 1997: Overview and structure of the Phædo: this set of pages introduce the Phædo as a dialogue defining the philosopher as the one who knows he will never be able to prove the soul's immortality but lives nevertheless the beautiful risk of behaving according to this belief, and analyses the detailed structure of the dialogue.
• November 4, 1996: The story of Gyges: this page explores the deeper meaning of the story of Gyges in book II of the Republic and its relationship with the allegory of the cave in book VII and the myth of Er at the end of book X.
• September 29, 1996: Plan of the Phædrus: this set of pages provides a commentary of the Phædrus through an in depth analysis of its structure and of the detailed plan of each of Socrates' three speeches.
• August 19, 1996: Plan of the Apology: this analysis of the carefully built structure of the Apology, so much in line with the structuring principles of the dialogs as a whole, should cast doubt on the prevailing assumption that the Apology was written soon after Socrates' death.
• August 14, 1996: Plans of the Republic: this page shows on the central dialog of the set how Plato was able to combine multiple structures in the same dialog and how a careful analysis of a dialog's "form" may help us better understand what Plato meant.
• May 16, 1996: Initial setup

Plato and his dialogues : Home - Biography - Works and links to them - History of interpretation - New hypotheses - Map of dialogues : table version or non tabular version. Tools : Index of persons and locations - Detailed and synoptic chronologies - Maps of Ancient Greek World. Site information : About the author.

Last updated April 8, 2026
© 1996, 1997 Bernard SUZANNE (click on name to send your comments via e-mail)
Quotations from theses pages are authorized provided they mention the author's name and source of quotation (including date of last update). Copies of these pages must not alter the text and must leave this copyright mention visible in full.