Abstract
As widely known books II, III and X in the Republic contain various examples of what may seem to be criticism of art. These include criticism of the works of famous poets such as Homer and Hesiod, and artistic disciplines as for instance poetry and painting. However, even if Plato may have criticized art, it does not follow that he disapproves of art as such. It is not certain that he is generally hostile towards artistic practices such as painting and composing poetry although he may have been critical to particular works. The purpose of this paper is to clarify whether or not Plato’s criticism is indeed a criticism of art as such.