Now I see what Plato was saying....

In the Iliad the gods are constantly swayed by emotion. Juno, overcome by hatred and acts against Troy. She commands Aeolus, the god of the winds, to "Wing all thy winds with rage! and to "Submerge their ships!" with no other reason than "a race I love not sail[s] the Tyrrhene sea."
Moreover, this emotion even leads the gods to question each other's authority. For instance, when Aeolus moves the waters with his winds, Neptune feels like he (Aeolus) has infringed on his territory - "The Sea's dominion and the Trident stern [are] but mine by lot." So, Neptune undoes the actions of Aeolus, asserting his power over him.
Therefore, it makes sense that Plato would outlaw such poetry in a city where the people are supposed to respect their gods. For how can the people respect the gods if the gods themselves do not respect each other.

Also, the goddess Venus uses deception to get her way. First of all she disguises herself as a hunter while talking to her own son, and then later on, she sends Cupid, the god of love, disguised as Ascanius in order to ultimately fill Dido with passion for Aeneas and ensure his safety. In Plato's city, virtue is upheld, and the idea of teaching children to do right no matter what, even apart from consequences is examined. Therefore, deception should not be valued highly - especially in action from the gods. So it makes sense that this contradictory literature should not be included in the culture of the city.

I am NOT for governments making laws about what we can and cannot read, however, If we think of the city as a metaphor for the individual, as it is intended to be. Then baning books from the city simply means that each person chooses not to read a certain books that are detrimental to their world view. I do believe that we should all think about what we are reading and if it is something that is against our beliefs, we should ask ourselves why we are reading it. Is there a purpose? This goes for television, and music as well. As an extreme example, If I am a christian, I am obviously not going to read satanic books and listen to satanic music. However, not all instances are this clear cut. For instance, will I listen to music about going to a club? Will I read a book about romance that presents ideas against my idea of the husband-wife relationship? For these questions there may not be a clear cut answer - each individual must decide for themselves.

I commented on Olivia's