Many Plato interpreters held that his writings contain passages with double meanings, called allegories that give the dialogues layers of figurative meaning in addition to their usual literal meaning.
These allegorical interpretations of Plato were dominant for more than 1500 years, from about the first century CE through the Renaissance and into the Eighteenth Century, and were advocated by major figures such as Plotinus, Proclus and Ficino.
Beginning with Philo of Alexandria (1st CE), these views influenced Jewish, Christian and Islamic interpretation of their holy scriptures. They spread widely in the Renaissance and contributed to the fashion for allegory among poets such as Dante, Spenser and Shakespeare.
Year: 347 BC
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