Il poeta e il demiurgo

In the Timaeus and Critias, Plato interweaves two narrative lines: the demiurge's making of the cosmos with the victory of archaic Athens against Atlantis. The aim of this book is to investigate the relationship between the narrative practice of both accounts and the theoretical analysis of the nature of poetry led by Socrates in the Republic. Aside from the metaphysical, ontological, and political issues, the literary status of the Timaeus and Critias matches the analysis on poetry exposed in the Republic. Moreover, with the dialogue form, the accounts of Timaeus and Critias legitimate Plato as heir of archaic and classical poetry.