In the middle of his cosmological account. Timaeus revises his initial ontology of Forms and images by introducing a distinct, third kind of thing. He begins by asking. 'Now, what capacity and nature must one suppose that it has? One such as this most of all: that it is a hypodoche of all birth, like a wetnurse." For over two centuries. English-speaking scholars have been translating into8oxq here as 'receptacle' 2 Equally enduring has been the custom of identifying the third kind as 'the Receptacle'. Despite this general consensus, it is still unclear just what greek means in this context and how the English 'receptacle' is an accurate translation of it. This is because greek is ambiguous. Perhaps Plato means that the third kind is a recipient or receiver simply in that it takes in something else. Or maybe the reader should think of a container or a containing vessel that sur-rounds and holds its contents. Another possible reading, which the present article defends, is that imo8oxii here emphasizes the act of providing sustenance and nourishment, rather than simple taking in or containment, and is thus best under-stood in terms of the notions 'place of welcoming' and 'refuge'.
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