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S. P. Ward. Penology and Eschatology in Plato's Myths. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Meilen Press, 2002. Pp. v + 295. Cloth, $99.95.
In this work the author begins by asking himself the following question: What is an eschatological myth? The adjective "eschatological" indicates that the discourse it qualifies is concerned with the last things; that is, death and the judgment of souls that follows it. Hence, the relation that may be established between eschatology understood in this sense and penology, which refers to the punishments the soul undergoes at the end of its earthly existence. As far as the meaning of 'myth' is concerned, the author, influenced by G. S. Kirk (The Nature of Greek Myths [Penguin, 1974]), adopts a relativist position. He does not think it possible to give a general definition; therefore, he limits himself to pointing out some of the characteristics of this type of discourse, on the basis of passages from the Platonic corpus which are usually considered as myths.
Having set his analytical tools in place, the author proposes a commentary on the eschatological myths at the end of the Gorgias (523a- 527C),...