Dialogues · Character

Glaucon

Plato's brother, a restless Athenian who wants to hear the whole story of love retold and never tires of arguing on the road.

supporting

Also known as 215 Glaucon, Glaucon impatiently

First appearance: book i

See Glaucon in book i Book page

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Glaucon appears as the eager listener who catches Apollodorus on the road to Athens and demands a full account of the speeches at Agathon's feast, insisting the walk itself was made for conversation. He is impatient, curious, and hungry for philosophy, pressing for the tale to be rehearsed again rather than letting it fade into hearsay. His appetite for the argument makes him the reader's stand-in, the one whose questions keep the dialogue moving forward.

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See Glaucon in book i

Character Web

7 connections

A slice of how Glaucon sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Extended Cast of Dialogues
Philosophers and Interlocutors

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point

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Relationships

Socrates
friendship · positive

Relationship notes

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See Glaucon in book i

In the story

Glaucon appears across 12 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Dialogues
Challenges Socrates on the nature of justice in the Republic.
Republic
Challenges Socrates to defend justice for its own sake.
Introduction and Analysis
Socrates' interlocutor, who is urged to follow the argument and is addressed directly in the search for justice.
The Republic
Socrates' interlocutor; responds to Socrates' arguments about justice and the philosopher's role.
Book II
Challenges Socrates to defend justice intrinsically, excluding reputations and rewards.
Book III
Responds to Socrates, agreeing on the principles of education and the need to control tales about death.
Book IV
Engages actively with Socrates, agreeing that the question of justice vs. injustice is now ridiculous, and follows the argument about the forms of vice and virtue.
Book V
Challenges Socrates to explain the community of women and children; agrees with the resolution to press Socrates for an answer.
Book VII
Socrates' primary interlocutor, questioning and responding to the proposals for the philosopher-kings.
Book VIII
Socrates' interlocutor; responds to and questions Socrates' analysis of political change.
Book IX: The Tyrannical Soul and the Superiority of Justice
Responds to Socrates' questions, agreeing with the parallels between the tyrannical state and the tyrannical soul, and affirming the conclusions about pleasure and justice.
Book X
Socrates' primary interlocutor; expresses astonishment at the claim of the soul's immortality and engages in the subsequent arguments.

Chapter companion notes

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See Glaucon in book i