# Lysimachus — Dialogues character guide

> Lysimachus in Dialogues by Plato.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Socrates Lysimachus

**First appearance:** 0012-laches

## Snapshot

An aging Athenian who fears he has neglected his sons' education and seeks out Socrates to make up for lost time.

## Who they are

Lysimachus belongs to the generation of Athenians whose fathers were famous and whose own lives feel diminished by comparison. He and his friend Melesias approach Socrates with a practical worry — how to raise their boys well — but their real anxiety is that they themselves never learned what virtue is. That gap between public standing and private uncertainty drives the Laches, where two old men ask two generals to define courage and discover that neither can.

## In the story

### [Laches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/laches)

One of the fathers seeking advice on the education of his son, present at the dialogue.

### [Laches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/laches)

Seeks advice on his son's education and asks Socrates to lead the discussion.

## Links

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