in the symposium, Plato presents his readers with many different charac- terisations of the aulos and the performers of this instrument. at the very beginning of the drinking-party (symp. 176e7) the aulos-girl is sent away: given that this instru- ment played a very significant role in the sympotic practices of Classical athens, this exceptional choice calls for an explanation. in the light of the following develop- ments of the dialogue, the dismissal of the αὐλητρίς becomes even more significant. in fact, on the one hand, this character reappears at a key moment of the dialogue, as alcibiades’ dramatic appearance on scene is announced and accompanied precisely by the sound of her “voice” (αὐλητρίδος φωνὴν ἀκούειν, 212c8; cf. 212d6). On the other hand, in his following discourse of praise, alcibiades characterises Socrates as ‘the most wonderful αὐλητής’ and claims that this image not only epitomises the effect of Socrates’ words on the souls of his listeners (cf. 215b-216d) but reveals no less than “the truth” about Socrates (τοῦ ἀληθοῦς ἕνεκα, 215a9). but what do Socrates’ words have in common with the seductive voice of the aulos? in this paper, i will show how these apparently conflicting images can help us understand Plato’s complex and nu- anced attitude towards the alluring voice of the aulos and its psychological effects. more specifically, i will contend that alcibiades’ characterisation of Socrates as the ‘most wonderful aulete’ reveals how the power of Socrates’ seductive words can be truly likened to a ‘good use’ of auletic music. Just as marsyas’ and Olympus’ divine music is capable of revealing who needs to participate in mystic rites, so also Socrates’ aulemata are capable of achieving an effect that goes much deeper than mere rational persuasion and exposes the true ethical needs of his interlocutors. differently from what is often maintained, then, i will argue that Plato is not at all concerned with the capacity of the aulos to provoke deep and powerful emotions; on the contrary, far from rejecting entirely the intense and even ecstatic effects of music, Plato’s aim is to highlight the importance of using these powerful forces correctly. if oriented correctly, both musical and rhetorical aulemata become crucial educational “tools” to give shape to the soul and its inner hierarchy of desires. if oriented in the wrong ethi- cal direction, both the power of persuasive speech and that of music lead to the exact opposite result: psychological (and therefore political) strife.
