# Euthyphro — Dialogues character guide

> Euthyphro in Dialogues by Plato.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0038-euthyphro

## Snapshot

A self-assured religious expert who meets Socrates outside the courthouse and is asked to define piety, a question he cannot quite answer.

## Who they are

Euthyphro is a man of strong convictions and stronger confidence, prosecuting his own father for murder on religious grounds and certain of his own righteousness. Socrates' request for a definition of piety exposes the gap between Euthyphro's certainty and his ability to say what he means, producing the dilemma that still bears his name. His brief, tense exchange with Socrates frames the question of whether goodness is good because the gods love it, or loved because it is good.

## In the story

### [Euthyphro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/euthyphro)

Euthyphro is prosecuting his father for murder and claims to have precise knowledge of piety, but fails to define it consistently.

### [Euthyphro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/euthyphro)

A religious expert who is prosecuting his father for murder; he attempts to define piety but fails to provide a satisfactory universal definition.

## Links

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