Charioteer Myth
For more details on this topic, see Chariot Allegory.Along with these other allegories, Plato's charioteer myth (Phaedrus 245c-257b) certainly also deserves mention. The ascent of the mind to celestial and trans-celestial realms is likened to a charioteer and a chariot drawn by two winged horses, one dark and one white. Figuratively represented is the famous Platonic tripartite model of the soul: the charioteer represents reason, or intellect, the dark horse appetitive passions, and the white horse irascible nature. Only by taming and controlling the two horses can the charioteer ascend to the heavens and enjoy a banquet of divine knowledge. Key epistemological features of the charioteer myth are (1) an emphasis, as with the cave allegory, upon true knowledge as ascent, (2) and the need to tame one's passionate nature to obtain true knowledge.
Read more about this topic: Platonic Epistemology
Famous quotes containing the words charioteer and/or myth:
“The soul is like a pair of winged horses and a charioteer joined in natural union.”
—Plato (427–347 B.C.)
“Myth is the hidden part of every story, the buried part, the region that is still unexplored because there are as yet no words to enable us to get there.... Myth is nourished by silence as well as by words.”
—Italo Calvino (1923–1985)