An exploration of the Myth of Er in Plato's Republic by Dr. Pierre Grimes
Listen to the tale of the warrior bold, Er. Slain in battle and left for dead. On the tenth day after the battle the decaying corpses were prepared for the funeral pyre. Er's body alone had not decayed and was intact. On the twelfth day as he lay upon the funeral pyre he woke up and said "I have seen the world beyond. When I journeyed forth from my body a great company came together in a mysterious region..." Platos' Republic Book X: 614b
![]()
May we preserve these philosophical beauties, and exhibit them to others. May this web site expand their elegance by the enlivening rays of the philosophic fire; and by the powerful breath of genius, scatter abroad in this virtual world these latent but copious seeds.
If some sparks of this celestial fire shall animate the reader, consider yourself as well rewarded for this laborious undertaking. Ancient philosophy has been, for centuries, the only study to break the shackles of ignorance; and in which one finds an inexhaustible treasure of intellectual wealth, and a perpetual fountain of wisdom and delight.
Presuming that such a pursuit bestows the highest benefit, I, Webmistress, desire no other reward than the wealth of wisdom, and Reason as my constant Guide. If successful, may I see the praise of the liberal; and if not, I expect no defense for failure, other than the decision of the candid, and discerning few, thus the opportunity to learn, and purgation by philosophic fire.