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Divine madness

Theia mania: Plato’s account in the Phaedrus of the god-given madness of prophecy, initiation, poetry and love.

Also: theia mania

Greek philosophy and Neoplatonism

In the Phaedrus, Socrates distinguishes human madness from divine madness, a gift of the gods, of four kinds: prophetic, ritual, poetic and erotic. The last, inspired by the sight of beauty, which reminds the soul of the Forms, grows the wings of the soul.