Über den Tod

»Axiochus,« a dialogue attributed to Plato, presumably from the late first century BC, deals with the anthropologically timeless question of what happens to a human being after death: The philosopher Socrates is called to the deathbed of Axiochus, who is afraid of dying. Socrates is supposed to alleviate this fear and begins by using Epicurean arguments, which however do not convince Axiochus. It is not until Socrates uses Plato's arguments that Axiochus finally succeeds in overcoming his fear of death and he even begins to look forward to dying. In this volume, the pseudo-Platonic dialogue »Axiochus« is integrated for the first time philologically and philosophically into the context of the so-called Middle Platonism and the intense reception of this »ars moriendi« in the early modern period is examined.