Literary Technique of Greek Mythology

The Literary Technique of Greek Mythology

Alliterations and references of Greek mythology have been used by writers to help convey the messages to their audiences for centuries. In the pieces, The Souls of Black Folk and The Trials of Socrates, both DuBois and Plato use Greek mythology to help explain the meaning behind the text. Justice is the central theme in both texts. DuBois offers many ideas and thoughts about African American equality in the United States, and Plato analyzes the meaning and interpretation of justice, and how it is applied to social order. Even though these topics have been commonplace subjects throughout history, they are also extremely complex and can be easily misunderstood. In addition, circumstances such as lack of education of audiences as well as the unfamiliar writing styles make the topics more difficult to understand. Because of this, both Plato and DuBois incorporate allusions to Greek mythology in their texts to help explain their messages and concepts to their audiences. In The Souls of Black Folk and The Trials of Socrates, literary techniques allows the authors to lead and navigate their audiences through lines of thought and to arrive at conclusions comprehension that they may be otherwise incapable of.

Given that Plato's Trials of Socrates was set in Greece, to a Greek audience, his usage of Greek mythology is completely ordinary. In addition, Plato's utilization of mythology also helps one understand the culture of the time period in which the piece was written. The references to mythology give insight into the ideals and principles that were valued at the time as well. Because the gods played such a crucial role in the Greek culture, most of Plato's views and thoughts are expressed through the discussions of Socrates are based on the belief in Greek mythology and the gods. Socrates is indicted and is mandated to trial on the charges that he "commits injustice and is a busybody, in that he investigates the things beneath the earth and in the heavens, makes the weaker argument, and teaches these things to others."(Plato 29). Responding to the injustices and charges being brought against him, Socrates introduces the question of what Zeus and the gods consider to be just and unjust. Furthering the concept, Socrates says that every god has a different opinion, on which actions are just and unjust, which results in the difficulty of humans being able to definitively say what justice is (Plato 29-33). Having a rudimentary understanding of the background of Greek mythology and the different gods, helps the audience to comprehend the point that Plato is trying to make.

The usage of Greek mythology by Plato is also found in the conversation between Socrates and Euthyphro. Through Socrates' questioning, he is able to steer Euthyphro to the conclusion that he is unaware of the definition of piety or impiety (Plato 25). The reference to the Greek gods was critical in the clear delivery of Socrates message that he is conveying to his audience. Because of this connection, the audience is able to understand that Plato believe that piety and impiety are incapable of being evidently defined, and because they are ambiguous we should not act solely based upon the preconceived conclusions.

Socrates is a character that is famous for his method of asking questions to surface logic in his listener. Socrates' audiences usually have trouble following his thoughts, because he usually is not extremely clear or straightforward in his words and tends to dance around the main idea. During the conversation of piety and justice, Socrates again explains his message through the use of Greek mythology. At the start of the dialogue, Socrates leads Euthyphro to state "what's loved by the gods is pious, and what's not