Plato’s Myths 2026 | Resources – The Platonic Academy of Melbourne

Class times: 6.30pm to 8pm Thursdays 12, 19, 26 February & 5, 12, 19 March, 2026

Venue: Take the lift to Level 2, The Greek Community, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Zoom Link for all six classes | Dial-in for internet disruptions: +61280156011 | Meeting ID: 871 2609 3090 | Passcode: 002952 [UPDATE 13 Feb: broken link now fixed]

Course Outline and weekly readings with options for access to texts

PDF of first reading: Judgment of Souls.

Catch-up Class Recordings

Go to the YouTube playlist for all recordings or follow the links below

Week 1

Part 1

Session 1 | Part 1 | Introduction

Part 2

Session 1 | Part 2 | The Judgement of Souls | Gorgias 523a-527a or Chapter 2 |

Also raised during the class were the 4th Century Cappadician Church Fathers and the way that they transmitted Platonism into Christianity. See John Oppy’s salon talk on the neo-Platonic influence on their Trinitarian teaching.
Also mentioned: Are Plato’s myths of the afterlife Lullabies for the dying?
And: Why Platonism will never be taught at the universities?

Week 2

Also raise after class was Greek Orthodox rituals around death, including the eating of Koliva after 40 days. See also this ABC radio show discussing Robert Garland’s work on death and the afterlife in Ancient Greece and Rome. (starts at 38 mins)

Week 3

Session 3 | The Winged Soul | Phaedrus 246a–257a or Chapter 8 |

Week 4