Plato's Chariot Allegory interpretation is as insightful now as it may have been was when it was first written back over two thousand years ago. In this blog I would like to share the appreciation I have for the allegory and provide a new perspective on allegory’s relevance in this modern era.
What is the Allegory of the Chariot?
Phaedrus (c.370BC) written by Plato is a dialogue between the protagonist, Socrates and an ancient Athenian aristocrat, Phaedrus. The dialogue is mainly about love and the art of rhetoric and how it should be used. The dialogue consists of three speeches, and in the second speech of Socrates it is where the Allegory of the Chariot is first mentioned while discussing the topic of the Soul.
In the Allegory of the Chariot, Plato paints a picture in our minds of a Charioteer in charge of his chariot, being pulled forward by two horses towards the heavens. The white horse thumos is of a noble nature showing righteous passion whereas the black horse appetites is more irrational and is driven by lust and material attachment. The charioteer himself represents the intellect, reason or conscience. The charioteer must ensure that these two horses work in harmony so that the chariot representing the soul reaches its ultimate destination, which as per the allegory is realising the ultimate truth or enlightenment. If the two horses do not work together and it is impossible for the charioteer to make any progress as the horses are pulling in opposite directions- thumos pulls towards the heavens and appetites towards the earth.
This is a very beautiful representation of inner battles we all face in our daily lives, whether it is the drive to achieve more at work, the desire to learn more, to innovate and at the same the conflicts we encounter when we let our raw desires take control and we become slaves to lust and greed.
The Thumos in Us....
Thumos represents the the stimulus, the desire, the juice to action - the thing that makes the blood rush into our veins. It the collective energy within all of us that drives each one to achieve more in life, to pass that difficult test, to get that dream job, to climb a mountain, to set sail to without a destination in sight and to love unconditionally.
