A complementary observation to determine Phaedrus' age in Plato's Phaedrus

This paper deals with the problem of determining Phaedrus' age in the eponymous dialogue. The vocatives (SIC) nu epsilon alpha nu iota alpha and (SIC) pi alpha iota, in Pl. Phdr. 257c8 and 267c6, could suggest that Plato depicts him as a teenager. However, most scholars believe that Phaedrus is an adult and that the vocatives point at his passive and childish character. I will first summarize the evidence given for supporting the latter thesis. Then, I offer complementary evidence, showing that those vocatives mockingly compare his passiveness with that of a young beloved in a homoerotic context.