Plutarchs Dialog De E apud Delphos

The De E apud Delphos dialogue is one of the most frequently discussed texts in the works of Plutarch of Chaeronea (45-120 AD), the Greek philosopher and polyhistor. On the assumption that the essence of the god Apollo as an inspirator of philosophy was expressed in the mysterious dedication gift in the form of an E on his temple in Delphi, the possible meanings of the E are debated using philosophical methods in five contributions to the discussion. The answers to pivotal questions about Plutarch's philosophical development, his Platonism, his relationship to the Stoa as well as to his philosophical interpretation of Greek religion depend on the understanding of this dialogue. Tobias Thum provides the first analysis of the entire dialogue in all its literary and philosophical dimensions and gives a coherent new interpretation of Plutarch's conception of the text and its philosophical substance.