Theological roots of evil in Plato

In this work, the emergence and positioning of the term evil in Plato's conception is discussed both in terms of theological and mythological meaning along with concept tracking. Accordingly, in Plato's understanding of morality, the concept of evil is used conceptually in different ways such as evil for the Republic, and evil dependent on and independent of human beings. The theological reasons for the emergence of evil in Plato's philosophy is examined owing to the help of mythological texts such as the works of Homeros, Hesiodos, and Orpheus and various concept of the term evil are tracked. It is examined how Plato positions evil in the structure of Republic which is constructed along his understanding of the spirit. The existence of evil in all that is created by a divine is investigated in Timaios. The method of protecting the society in bad things by putting divine laws has been investigated in Laws. The concepts he uses to express evil are tracked by the philosophers he is influenced by and, particularly, by mythological texts, since he uses various concepts to name the term evil. Timaios, Laws, and Republic are emphasized as the main dialogues. The references to mythological texts in Plato's dialogues have been reconsidered and analyzed within the framework of the concept of evil. It is revealed how evil has undergone a change by following the historical and conceptual background of the formation of evil in Plato's understanding. It is clearly revealed where exactly Plato's understanding of evil originates and how it changed in his conception.