{"product_id":"pharmakon-plato-drug-culture-and-identity-in-ancient-athens-9780739146873","title":"Pharmakon: Plato, Drug Culture, and Identity in Ancient Athens","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Michael A. Rinella\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Lexington Books\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Lexington Books\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Semiotics \u0026amp; Theory\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePharmakon: Plato, Drug Culture, and Identity in Ancient Athens\u003c\/i\u003e examines the emerging concern for controlling states of psychological ecstasy in the history of western thought, focusing on ancient Greece (c. 750 - 146 BCE), particularly the Classical Period (c. 500 - 336 BCE) and especially the dialogues of the Athenian philosopher Plato (427 - 347 BCE). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEmploying a diverse array of materials ranging from literature, philosophy, medicine, botany, pharmacology, religion, magic, and law, \u003ci\u003ePharmakon\u003c\/i\u003e fundamentally reframes the conceptual context of how we read and interpret Plato's dialogues. Michael A. Rinella demonstrates how the power and truth claims of philosophy, repeatedly likened to a \u003ci\u003epharmakon\u003c\/i\u003e, opposes itself to the cultural authority of a host of other occupations in ancient Greek society who derived their powers from, or likened their authority to, some \u003ci\u003epharmakon\u003c\/i\u003e. These included Dionysian and Eleusinian religion, physicians and other healers, magicians and other magic workers, poets, sophists, rhetoricians, as well as others. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAccessible to the general reader, yet challenging to the specialist, \u003ci\u003ePharmakon\u003c\/i\u003e is a comprehensive examination of the place of drugs in ancient thought that will compel the reader to understand Plato in a new way.","brand":"Lexington Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47599315615895,"sku":"9780739146873","price":6391.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780739146873.webp?v=1775003951","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/pharmakon-plato-drug-culture-and-identity-in-ancient-athens-9780739146873","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}