Protagoras (PDF)

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8 PR0TAG0RAs 315a—316a
9
Calm down. We want to see Protagoras. That’s why we’ve come.
So please announce us.” Eventually he opened the door for us.
When we went in we found Protagoras walking in the portico
flanked by two groups. On one side were Hipponicus and his
315 brother on his mother’s side, Paralus, son of Pericles, and
12 son of Glaucon. On the other side were Pericles’
Charmides,
other son, Xanthippus, Philippides, son of Philomelus, and
3 Protagoras’ star pupil who is studying
Antimoerus of Mende,’
professionally to become a sophist. Following behind and trying
to listen to what was being said were a group of what seemed to
be mostly foreigners, men whom Protagoras collects from the
various cities he travels through. He enchants them with his
b voice like Orpheus, and they follow the sound of his voice in a
trance. There were some locals also in this chorus, whose dance
simply delighted me when I saw how beautifully they took care
never to get in Protagoras’ way. When he turned around with
his flanking groups, the audience to the rear would split into
two in a very orderly way and then circle around to either side
and form up again behind him. It was quite lovely.
5 on a
4 says) Hippias of Elis,’
c And then I perceived (as Homer’
high seat in the other side of the colonnade. Seated on benches
16 son of Acoumenus, Phaedrus
around him were Eryximachus,
and a few other foreigners. They seemed to be asking Hippias
questions on astronomy and physics, and he, from his high seat,
was answering each of their questions point by point.
18 too, for Prodicus of
And not only that, but I saw Tantalus
9 was also in town. He was in a room which Hipponicus
Ceos’
had formerly used for storage, but because of the number of
visitors Callias had cleared it out and made it into a guest room.
Prodicus was still in bed and looked to be bundled up in a pile
of sheepskin fleeces and blankets. Seated on couches next to
2° from Cerames, and with Pausanias a fairly
him were Pausanias
young boy, well-bred I would say, and certainly good-looking. I
think I heard his name is Agathon, and I wouldfl’t be surprised
if he were Pausanias’ young love. So this boy was there, and the
21 sons of Cepis and Leucolophidas, and there
two Adeimantuses,
seemed to be some others. What they were talking about I
couldn’t tell from outside, even though I really wanted to hear
Prodicus, a man who in my opinion is godlike in his universal
knowledge. But his voice is so deep that it set up a reverberation
in the room that blurred what was being said.
We had just arrived when along came Alcibiades the Beautiful
7 son of Androtion, a number of Eleans
of Myrrhinous, Andron,’
(as you call him, and I’m not arguing) and Critias son of Call
18. Odyssey 11.582: “And indeed I saw Tantalus suffering hardships.” See note
14. There is no obvious specific point to the implied comparison between
12. Charmides (d. 403 B.c.), an Athenian, brother of Plato’s mother, and a leader
(along with Critias—see note 22 below) in the oligarchic revolution (of the
Thirty Tyrants) in 404. He died in the fighting during the democratic restoration.
As a young man Charmides was renowned for his beauty. Plato gives Char
mides a major role in the early dialogue which bears his name.
13. Philippides, Antimoerus: faces in the crowd.
14. Homer Odyssey 11.601: “And then I perceived [the mighty Heraclesi.” Vari
ants of this phrase are used repeatedly by Odysseus in his account of the heroes
Prodicus and Tantalus, who was punished in Hades by eternal thirst and hunger
though food and water were tantalizingly close. Prodicus does seem to have
been in bed with a cold.
he saw during his visit to the underworld. This allusion to Homeric epic estab
lishes a mock-heroic tone for the scene in Callias’ house.
15. Hippias of Elis, a sophist noted for his knowledge in all areas of science and
craft, ranging from mathematics and rhetoric to weaving and sewing. His dates
are uncertain, younger than Protagoras and Socrates, perhaps older than Plato.
Plato wrote two dialogues bearing his name, Hippias Minor and Hippins Major.
(The authenticity of the latter is questioned by some scholars.)
16. Eryximachus and Phaedrus. Eryximachus is a doctor. He appears in Plato’s
Symposium, ther.e as here, with his friend Phaedrus, a promising young
intellectual. Plato gives Phaedrus further attention in his later dialogue
Phaedrus.
17. Andron, another face in the crowd.
19. Prodicus of Ceos, a sophist noted for his careful distinctions of meaning
among terms. His dates are uncertain; according to Plato in the Apology, he was
alive in 399 B.C. Plato allows Socrates to say that he admires Prodicus’ approach
to inquiry; this expression of respect is almost certainly genuine, given Socrates’
own commitment to making careful distinctions as an element of proper
philosophical method. A fragment of the writing of Prodicus survives in
Xenophon, Memorabilia; it is a moral fable on the choice of Heracles between
virtue and pleasure.
20. Pausanias and Agathon: Pausanias of Cerames, a lawyei with his friend
Agathon, here a boy. Agathon, an Athenian, went on to achieve success as a
tragedian. His winning of the prize at a dramatic competition (the Lenaion) in
416 B.C. was the occasion of the party which served as the dramatic setting for
Plato’s Symposium. Pausanias and Agathon both appear prominently in that
dialogue.
21. the two Adeimanti: one was a general in the Peloponnesian War; the other a
face in the crowd.