In what is recognized as the beginning of the
"Western history of censorship," Socrates was condemned
to death in 399 B.C. for "firstly, denying the gods recognized
by the state and introducing new divinities, and, secondly, corrupting
the young" (Haight, 1).
Though this censorship did not involve writings, Plato made the
application in 387 B.C., advocating that Homer's The Odyssey
be expurgated for young readers: "It is not our business
to invent stories but only to be clear as to the main outlines
to be followed by the poets in making their stories and the limits
beyond which they must not be allowed to go." Plato, the
Republic, ca. 385 B.C. Retrieved from "Forms of Censorship"
at http://www.humanities-interactive.org/literature/bonfire/exhibit1.html
Homer's The Odyssey also ran into trouble
in A.D. 35 in Rome, where Emperor Caligula tried to ban it because
of its expression of Greek ideals of freedom. Earlier, in 8 A.D.,
Emperor Augustus banished Ovid for his "Ars Amatoria"
(The Art of Love). Augustus took exception to Ovid's treatise
on seduction and intrigue (Haight,
2).
The impetus for Plato to limit the written word
seems to have come from a desire to protect the immature. The
Roman officials were more concerned with protecting their own
power and prestige. Did these two reasons continue to dominate
censorship over the next centuries?
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