Dialogues · Character

Cleinias

A Cretan statesman tasked with founding a new colony, he listens to the Athenian with the practical ear of someone who must actually write laws.

supporting

Also known as Cleinias of Cnosus, the Cretan Cleinias, Cleinias Excellent

First appearance: Laws

As a supporting figure in Dialogues, Cleinias is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

A young man who is the target of the sophists' confutations.

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Cleinias brings the perspective of a man who will have to implement whatever is decided, which makes him both more receptive to the Athenian's ideas and more insistent on their feasibility. He is pious, traditional, and genuinely curious, but he also gently checks Megillus when Spartan pride threatens to derail the conversation. He matters because he is the dialogue's hinge between theory and practice: the one who must decide whether the city being described in words can ever exist on Cretan soil.

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Character Web

28 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Philosophers and Interlocutors
Extended Cast of Dialogues

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point

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In the story

Cleinias appears across 17 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Euthydemus
A young man who is the target of the sophists' confutations.
Euthydemus
Cleinias is the young interlocutor subjected to the sophists' tricks; Socrates later engages him in a serious discussion about the nature of good and happiness.
Laws
Cretan interlocutor who participates in the legislative discussion.
Introduction and Analysis
Addressed as 'Cleinias' in the discussion about the object of the statesman and the four virtues.
Laws
The Cretan interlocutor who engages with the Athenian Stranger, agreeing with his proposals and seeking clarification.
Book I
Participates in the dialogue, agreeing with the Athenian's points and representing the Cretan perspective.
Book II
Engages with the Athenian Stranger, agreeing with many points but expressing some reservations about the identity of the just and pleasant life.
Book III
Participates in the dialogue, agreeing with the Athenian's points on moderation and the causes of political decline.
Book IV
Engages with the Athenian Stranger, asking clarifying questions and expressing skepticism about the idea of a tyrant as the quickest path to good government.
Book V
Addressed as 'Cleinias' and 'O Cleinias'; responds approvingly to the Athenian Stranger's advice about colonizing a new country.
Book VI
Interacts with the Athenian Stranger, acknowledging the need for preludes to laws and agreeing on the importance of proper marriage alliances.
Book VII
The Cretan interlocutor who responds to the Athenian Stranger's proposals.
Book VIII
Engages with the Athenian Stranger, asking clarifying questions and agreeing with his proposals.
Book IX
Engages with the Athenian Stranger, asking for clarification on the difference between hurt and injustice and the complications of voluntary and involuntary actions.
Book X
Assents to the Athenian's arguments and participates in the dialogue about the Gods and justice.
Book XI
The Cretan interlocutor who engages with the Athenian Stranger, asking clarifying questions about the proposed laws.
Book XII
The Cretan interlocutor who encourages the Athenian Stranger to continue and seeks clarity on the permanence of the laws.

Chapter companion notes

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See Cleinias in Laws

See Cleinias in Euthydemus