Callicles after the Gorgias: Platonic Heroism in the Lives of Moses, Basil of Caesarea, and Emperor Julian

The lengthy monologue of the character Callicles in Plato's Gorgias enjoyed a rich afterlife in literature of the Imperial period and Late Antiquity. This study shows how three authors—Philo of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, and Libanius of Antioch—all draw on the language of "Callicles" to depict the coming of age of their respective subjects. Philo's Life of Moses, Gregory's encomium for his brother Basil, and Libanius' first oration for Julian all adapt Callicles' discussion of physis versus nomos and the active versus the contemplative life in order to depict moments of crisis and conversion in the early careers of their heroes.