Music nomes and skill in law · Lexicon

From the book

Minos

Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordBesides law and custom, nomos can name a traditional musical form, a nome.
In MinosMusic enters between farming and bodily training (317d–e).
In this editionNomos remains “law,” including the musical occurrences; the notes explain “nome.”
A place to readκρουμάτων ἐπὶ τὰ μέλη ἀγαθὸς νομεύς — The musical practitioner distributes strokes or sounds to tunes.

Meaning

Besides law and custom, nomos can name a traditional musical form, a nome. The supplied edition describes it as a type of melody sung with the cithara or flute, or played on the flute alone. Aulētēs is a flute-player and kitharistēs a cithara-player. Krouma is a stroke or instrumental sound; melos here is a tune, not the word's bodily sense “limb.” Aulēma is a flute-tune or piece performed on the flute. The superlatives nomikōtatos and aulētikōtatos mean most skilled in law and most skilled in flute-playing within the local comparison.

Use in the book

Music enters between farming and bodily training (317d–e). Socrates asks who distributes strokes to tunes and who is good at distributing what is due. The companion names the flute-player and cithara-player. Socrates then says that the one most skilled in law in these matters is the most skilled flute-player. The musical sense of nomos makes the transition more than an arbitrary extension of political language, but the argument still links successful performance with right distribution.

The next musical passage makes the special sense explicit by asking for an old good lawgiver in the “laws for the flute” (318b). Marsyas and Olympus supply the answer. Their tunes' continuing power then becomes a model for asking which king's usages still remain as divine (318b–c). Music connects the abstract discussion of competent allocation to the search for ancient and enduring laws.

The wordplay should not be dissolved in either direction. Translating every musical nomos merely as “composition” would conceal the recurrence of law; reading it solely as a legal regulation imposed on performers would conceal a familiar musical meaning. The two senses cooperate. The particular phrase about strokes also resists overprecision: the text does not give a score, a rhythmical theory, or a mechanical explanation of flute technique.

The criterion of expertise changes emphasis across the sequence. At 317d–e it is right assignment within performance; at 318b–c it is the exceptional power and survival of particular tunes. Their survival prepares the later appeal to the stability of Minos' laws, but artistic endurance and legal truth are not shown to be identical simply because both can be called nomoi.

Places to read

317dκρουμάτων ἐπὶ τὰ μέλη ἀγαθὸς νομεύς — The musical practitioner distributes strokes or sounds to tunes
317d–eΟἱ τοῦ αὐλητοῦ καὶ τοῦ κιθαριστοῦ — Both flute-player and cithara-player are named
317eὉ νομικώτατος ἄρα ἐν τούτοις, οὗτος αὐλητικώτατος — Skill in law and excellence in flute-playing meet within this domain
318bἐν τοῖς αὐλητικοῖς νόμοις νομοθέτης — The musical nome supports the expression “lawgiver” in flute music
318bτὰ αὐλήματα θειότατά ἐστι — The tunes of Marsyas and Olympus are described as most divine

Translation in this edition

Nomos remains “law,” including the musical occurrences; the notes explain “nome.” “Strokes” renders kroumata without pretending that the passage identifies a modern instrumental action. “Most skilled in law” is retained for nomikōtatos, allowing the verbal bridge to remain visible even where English sounds less idiomatic than Greek.

Cithara-player — κιθαριστής (kitharistēs)

κιθαριστής (kitharistēs)

Cithara-player. A player of the cithara, paired with the flute-player as a knowledgeable distributor of musical strokes or sounds. Attested: κιθαριστοῦ (317e). Music nomes and skill in law.

Flute-player — αὐλητής (aulētēs)

αὐλητής (aulētēs)

Flute-player. The instrumental practitioner whose musical laws and distributions are right, named alongside the cithara-player. Attested: αὐλητοῦ (317e). Music nomes and skill in law.

Flute-tunes — αὔλημα (aulēma)

αὔλημα (aulēma)

Flute-tunes. Pieces played on the flute, specifically the tunes attributed to Marsyas and Olympus and praised for their divine effect. Attested: αὐλήματα (318b). Music nomes and skill in law.

Laws for the flute — νόμος (nomos)

νόμος (nomos)

Laws for the flute. Here law also carries the recognized musical sense nome, a traditional type of melody or composition. Both senses matter to the analogy. Attested: νόμοις (318b). Music nomes and skill in law.

Most skilled flute-player — αὐλητικός (aulētikos)

αὐλητικός (aulētikos)

Most skilled flute-player. The superlative describing the musician most proficient at flute-playing, equated locally with being most skilled in law. Attested: αὐλητικώτατος (317e). Music nomes and skill in law.

For the flute — αὐλητικός (aulētikos)

αὐλητικός (aulētikos)

For the flute. Pertaining to flute-playing, qualifying the musical laws or nomes in which an old good lawgiver is sought. Attested: αὐλητικοῖς (318b). Music nomes and skill in law.

Most skilled in law — νομικός (nomikos)

νομικός (nomikos)

Most skilled in law. The superlative applied first to musical competence and then to the trainer’s domain. In the musical use it exploits nomos as both law and nome. Attested: νομικώτατος (317e). Music nomes and skill in law.

Strokes — κροῦμα (krouma)

κροῦμα (krouma)

Strokes. Instrumental strokes or sounds to be allocated to tunes by a skilled musician; the passage does not specify a modern mechanical action. Attested: κρουμάτων (317d). Music nomes and skill in law.

Tunes — μέλος (melos)

μέλος (melos)

Tunes. Musical tunes or melodic units, the recipients of the allotted instrumental strokes. The bodily sense “limbs” is not operative here. Attested: μέλη (317d). Music nomes and skill in law.