Unwritten Doctrine, Ancient Silence

Plato was quite explicit in the Timaeusthat it was not possible to tell all men about ‘the Father of the Gods’. It follows from this that if, as in Plato’s case, doctrine comes from an understanding of the divine, then there must be an unwritten doctrine beneath the written texts which contains at least what makes sense to Plato himself, and perhaps an inner circle of peers or advanced students.*[1]
It is often assumed by students of antiquity that there is no special importance to be attache...