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Q: greek myths/heros/gods ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: greek myths/heros/gods
Category: Arts and Entertainment > Books and Literature
Asked by: peggy5-ga
List Price: $5.00
Posted: 05 Nov 2003 01:05 PST
Expires: 05 Dec 2003 01:05 PST
Question ID: 272780
I have a "bust" of someone greek. His name is written underneath and I
would like to find out who it is. there are 6 letters in the name.1st
letter is a capital N, 2nd letter in a capital A but with no bar
across it, 3rd letter is a capital A, 4th letter is a capital T, 5th
letter is an omega sign, and 6th letter is a capital N
Answer  
Subject: Re: greek myths/heros/gods
Answered By: tehuti-ga on 05 Nov 2003 02:34 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hello peggy5,

I am confident that what you have is a bust of Plato, one of the most
important philosophers of Ancient Greece.

There is however either an error on the statue itself in the first
letter you give, or it is actually not an N shape, but two vertical
lines with a bar across the top (rather than diagonally).  This makes
the word spell out PLATON, which is the Greek way of saying Plato. (If
the first letter was an N, the word would be NLATON, which does not
make sense).

You can view the Greek alphabet with English equivalents here.
http://www.physlink.com/Reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm  
The letters that spell Platon are: pi, lambda, alpha, tau, omega, nu.  

According to an article about Plato in the Catholic Encyclopedia, the
name Platon means  "the broad shouldered".
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12159a.htm

There is another article about Plato on the web site of the Universtiy
of St Andrews, Scotland, where you can also view some pictures of him,
including a number of sculptures
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Plato.html

Plato wrote about many subjects, but one of his most famous concepts
is of "the cave", which appears in his work, "The Republic".  In this
he talks about how what we see is just a shadow of the real reality of
things. He uses the image of a cave, in which people are chained to
the wall as prisoners and only see the shadows of objects cast onto
the walls, rather than the objects themselves.

Here is a link to an excerpt from a translation of "The Republic" by Allan Bloom:
http://www.vrc.iastate.edu/why.html (Iowa State University web site)
and here are some lecture notes about the concept from the University
of Washington
http://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/cave.htm  

Search strategy:
I know the Greek alphabet and figured that the name must be PLATON. I
also know of Plato's allegory of the cave. Searches were simply to
provide back-up:
1. "Greek alphabet"
2. Plato Platon
3. Plato cave

Request for Answer Clarification by peggy5-ga on 05 Nov 2003 03:36 PST
I have noted your comments and from the sites you sent me the pictures
look like my chap... however, my statue is at home and I asked my
hubby to e mail me with the correct letters, unfortunatley his
intrepertation is different than mine (although I'm sure mine is
correct! His intrepetation is " D EAT U N" as you can see it certainly
is different. I'm sure you were right with plato but can I clarify
tomorrow with you the proper name? many thanks for your quick and
efficient response.

Clarification of Answer by tehuti-ga on 05 Nov 2003 03:57 PST
Hello peggy, 

Yes, certainly.  If you use the request clarification feature again,
rather than posting a comment, then I will be alerted to the fact that
you have posted further on this queston. It would be ideal if you
could get a photograph of the name and post it up on the web for me to
see. In addition, you can run a quick check against the Greek letters
in the alphabet URL that I gave you.

Best wishes
tehuti

Request for Answer Clarification by peggy5-ga on 05 Nov 2003 23:57 PST
WOW!!!!!!!! I checked it last night and every detail you said was
correct! (My husband was trying to get the shapes not the letters).
Now I know its Plato!!! thanks ever so much

Clarification of Answer by tehuti-ga on 06 Nov 2003 02:24 PST
Hello once more, peggy5. I'm glad to have been of assistance, and even
gladder of the appreciation you have shown in your rating and
comments.  You don't need to respond to this clarification. It's just
that if I don't fill in this space with a "clarification", the
question will stay in my inbox marked as "needing clarification"  :) 
Best wishes, tehuti.
peggy5-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
The response was quick, detailed and accurate. thanks for such a
wonderful service. Your researchers certainly know their stuff. Take a
pat on the back!!!!!!!!!!

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