@BretDevereaux question for you, since I bet you'd know. In hackett publishing's 1997 version of Plato's complete works, Socrates constantly says "the god has..." Instead of "the gods have..."
Do you know why it was translated like this? (This in the Apology)
-
Because the Greek tends to say ὁ θεός ('the god') when a god is doing something. So if, say, Apollo spoke to you, you might said, 'The god said...' rather than 'A god said...' It is reflecting that usage.
It is a common mistake to read this as a sort of proto-monotheism. It isn't, rather it is just the standard respectful form of reference. For whatever reason there has been a general shift, for a while now, for scholars and translators to replicate that usage in English.
-
-
I am mixed on it (although to be honest, I do it when lecturing or speaking), because on the one hand it more accurately captures the Greek and its emphasis but on the other hand can be misleading to students who hear 'the god' and think monotheism.
Kiitos. Käytämme tätä aikajanasi parantamiseen. KumoaKumoa
-
Lataaminen näyttää kestävän hetken.
Twitter saattaa olla ruuhkautunut tai ongelma on muuten hetkellinen. Yritä uudelleen tai käy Twitterin tilasivulla saadaksesi lisätietoja.