# Hermogenes — Dialogues character guide

> Hermogenes in Dialogues by Plato.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0021-cratylus

## Snapshot

A patient debater who asks Socrates whether names are fixed by nature or by human convention, and gets a whirlwind of etymologies for his trouble.

## Who they are

Hermogenes moves through Athens as the brother of the wealthy Callias, which places him at the edges of the city's intellectual circles without ever quite commanding them. His defining trait is a willingness to be refuted: he proposes that names are purely conventional, then follows Socrates through a dizzying chain of word-origins without flinching. That stubborn openness makes him the ideal foil in the Cratylus, where the argument over whether language carries truth or merely custom needs someone unafraid to lose.

## In the story

### [Cratylus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/cratylus)

Argues that names are conventional and seeks Socrates' opinion.

### [Cratylus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/cratylus)

Argues that names are conventional and based on agreement.

### [Timaeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/timaeus)

Mentioned as part of the gathering.

### [Timaeus I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/i)

Present in the dialogue, though not directly quoted; part of the group preparing to speak.

### [Critias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/critias)

Mentioned as being present in the dialogue.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/hermogenes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters