# Protagoras — Dialogues character guide

> Protagoras in Dialogues by Plato.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the old Protagoras, O Protagoras

**First appearance:** 0015-protagoras

## Snapshot

The celebrated sophist whose fee buys instruction in virtue itself, forcing Socrates to ask what exactly a soul pays for when it hires a teacher.

## Who they are

Protagoras is the visiting celebrity of the dialogue that bears his name, a famous teacher from Abdera whose reputation draws Hippocrates to wake Socrates before dawn. He sells wisdom, and the tension is whether virtue can be taught like grammar or flute-playing, or whether the fee purchases only the appearance of it. His calm, self-assured presence makes him a worthy sparring partner, and the early debate over what a sophist actually is sets the terms for everything that follows.

## In the story

### [Protagoras](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/protagoras)

The renowned sophist who defends his profession and engages in a dialectical exchange with Socrates.

### [Protagoras](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/protagoras)

Defends the teachability of virtue, arguing that punishment aims at prevention and that all citizens must partake in justice and temperance for a city to exist.

### [The Myths of Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/the-myths-of-plato)

Protagoras narrates the tale of Prometheus and Epimetheus in the dialogue named after him.

### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis)

Referenced as the proponent of 'man is the measure' doctrine, which Socrates refutes by appealing to expertise and future judgments.

### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis)

Mentioned as one of the historical Sophists, though Plato's Sophist is an ideal type rather than a depiction of any particular individual.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/endnotes)

Mentioned in an endnote referencing his book titled 'Truth' and the Theaetetus.

## Links

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