Preface to the Second and Third Editions
Referenced indirectly through comparisons to Platonic dialogues such as the Republic and Phaedrus.
Dialogues
Central figure in the dialogues, guiding discussions on justice and virtue.
Charmides
Returns from Potidaea and leads the inquiry into the nature of temperance.
Charmides
Leads the inquiry into temperance, recounts the Thracian charm, and expresses frustration at his inability to define wisdom.
Lysis
Leads the dialogue, questioning Lysis and Menexenus about friendship.
Some Questions Relating to Friendship
Referenced as the questioner in the Lysis, asking about the nature of friendship.
Lysis
Leads the philosophical inquiry into the nature of friendship, questioning Lysis and Menexenus.
Laches
Leads the inquiry into the definition of courage, questioning Laches and Nicias.
Laches
Leads the inquiry into courage and education, cross-examining Nicias and Laches.
Protagoras
The main interlocutor who challenges Protagoras on the teachability of virtue and the unity of the virtues.
Protagoras
Leads the inquiry into the nature of virtue, questioning Protagoras about whether virtue is one whole or composed of parts, and whether it can be taught.
Euthydemus
Narrates and participates in the dialogue, seeking to guide Cleinias toward genuine knowledge.
Euthydemus
Socrates leads the dialogue, questioning the sophists and guiding Cleinias toward a serious understanding of virtue and wisdom.
Cratylus
Leads the discussion on the correctness of names.
Cratylus
Leads the discussion on the correctness of names and the nature of knowledge.
Phaedrus
Engages Phaedrus in philosophical discussion on love and rhetoric.
On the Decline of Greek Literature
Plato's Socrates is used to critique rhetoricians and sophists, contrasting them with ancient poets like Homer and Hesiod.
Phaedrus
Engages in dialogue with Phaedrus about rhetoric, writing, and philosophy; delivers a prayer to Pan.
Ion
Socrates questions Ion about the nature of his rhapsodic skill, arguing it stems from divine inspiration rather than knowledge.
Ion
Socrates questions Ion about his art and knowledge, leading the discussion to conclude that Ion's skill is due to divine inspiration.
Symposium
Delivers the central speech on love, recounting Diotima's wisdom.
Symposium
Recounts Diotima's teachings on love as the desire for the everlasting possession of the good and procreation in beauty.
Meno
Leads the inquiry into virtue, using the Socratic method to challenge Meno's assumptions and demonstrate the theory of recollection.
On the Ideas of Plato
Referenced as the speaker in dialogues where the theory of ideas is discussed.
Meno
Leads the dialogue, professing ignorance of virtue and guiding Meno through dialectical inquiry.
Euthyphro
Socrates initiates the dialogue, questioning Euthyphro about piety and impiety while facing his own indictment for impiety.
Euthyphro
Engages Euthyphro in a philosophical inquiry about piety, seeking to understand the essence of piety to defend himself against Meletus's indictment.
Apology
The defendant delivering his apologia before the Athenian jury.
Apology
The central speaker, defending his life and philosophical mission before the Athenian jury.
Crito
The protagonist, calmly awaiting execution and engaging in philosophical dialogue about justice and obedience to law.
Crito
The protagonist, calmly debating whether to escape prison, ultimately choosing to obey the laws of Athens.
Phaedo
Central figure; presents arguments for the immortality of the soul and calmly faces his own death.
Phaedo
Central figure; leads the discussion on the soul's immortality and the afterlife.
Gorgias
Leads the dialogue, challenging the value of rhetoric and advocating for justice and philosophy.
The Myths of Plato
Socrates is the central figure in many of the myths discussed, including his recantation speech in the Phaedrus and his role in the Republic.
Gorgias
Leads the discussion, defining rhetoric as flattery and arguing for the primacy of justice and virtue over pleasure.
Republic
Central figure leading the dialogue on justice and the ideal state.
Introduction and Analysis
Leads the inquiry into justice, identifying it with the principle of each part doing its own business in both the state and the individual soul.
The Republic
Main speaker; discusses the philosopher's nature, education, and the necessity of ruling.
Book I
Socrates leads the discussion, questioning Thrasymachus and defending the value of justice.
Book II
Accepts the challenge to defend justice, proposing to examine it in the larger context of the city.
Book III
Leads the discussion on education, censorship of poetry, and the harmony of music and gymnastic.
Book IV
Leads the discussion, drawing analogies between health of the body and virtue of the soul, and identifying the four virtues in the state.
Book V
Leads the discussion on the nature of philosophers and the community of women and children; defends the ideal state against objections.
Book VI
Leads the discussion on the Form of the Good and the fate of philosophers in society.
Book VII
Leads the discussion on the education of guardians and the allegory of the cave.
Book VIII
Main speaker; describes the decline of constitutions and the corresponding individual types.
Book IX: The Tyrannical Soul and the Superiority of Justice
Leads the dialogue, constructing the image of the soul and arguing for the superiority of justice and the misery of the tyrannical man.
Book X
Leads the discussion on the soul's immortality, recounts the Myth of Er, and argues against imitative poetry.
Timaeus
Present as a listener; sets the stage for Timaeus's account.
Introduction and Analysis
Referenced for his final causes and educational philosophy, contrasted with pre-Socratic thinkers.
Timaeus I
Opens the dialogue by summarizing the Republic and expressing a wish to see the ideal state in action.
§ II
Mentioned as a contemporary of Plato, part of the intellectual context of the early philosophers.
§ IV
Referenced indirectly through the Republic and Phaedrus for comparisons with Plato's cosmology.
§ V
Referenced indirectly through Platonic dialogues; the chapter discusses ideas attributed to him.
§ VI
Referenced in the context of the Charmides dialogue regarding the cure of the body through the soul.
§ VII
Referenced in the context of the Republic (VI 507, 508) regarding the process of sight.
§ VIII
Referenced in relation to final causes and the idea of good, contrasted with pre-Socratic philosophers.
Timaeus
Recalls the previous day's discussion on the ideal state and expresses a desire to see it in action, praising Timaeus, Critias, and Hermocrates.
Critias
Present as an interlocutor, encouraging Critias to continue his narrative.
Introduction and Analysis
Socrates is the interlocutor who grants indulgence to Critias and Hermocrates, and who praises Critias in the Timaeus.
Critias
Socrates grants indulgence to Critias and Hermocrates, and announces the judgment of the theatre.
Parmenides
Appears as a young philosopher who presents and defends the theory of Forms against Parmenides' criticisms.
Introduction and Analysis
Appears as a young philosopher engaging with Parmenides and Zeno, questioning the nature of ideas and participation.
Parmenides
Socrates presents his theory of ideas and participation, and is challenged by Parmenides to deepen his philosophical training.
Theaetetus
Leads the inquiry into the definition of knowledge, questioning Theaetetus and guiding the dialectic.
Introduction and Analysis
Leads the discussion, refuting Protagoras and examining the nature of knowledge, perception, and the philosopher's character.
Theaetetus
Leads the dialectical inquiry, proposing definitions and testing them through questioning, using his 'art of midwifery' to help Theaetetus develop his ideas.
Introduction and Analysis
Presented as the ideal true teacher and adversary of the Sophist; remains a silent auditor in the Sophist and Statesman dialogues.
Introduction and Analysis
Socrates' namesake, mentioned in the context of the Statesman dialogue and Socrates' jest about relationship.
Sophist
Initiates the dialogue, welcomes the Eleatic Stranger, and proposes the method of question and answer.
Sophist
Present as a silent auditor, mentioned as a potential helper for Theaetetus.
Statesman
Young Socrates responds to the Stranger's questions, helping to refine the definition of the statesman through dialectic.
Introduction and Analysis
Mentioned in the context of the 'Protagoras' and his stance on virtue.
Statesman
Engages in the discussion, asking clarifying questions about the statesman's art and the classification of governments.
Philebus
Leads the discussion on the nature of the good life, arguing for the supremacy of knowledge over pleasure.
Introduction and Analysis
Referenced as a key figure in ancient philosophy and as a participant in the Philebus dialogue.
Philebus
Leads the discussion on the good, pleasure, and wisdom; introduces the method of one and many.
Excursus on the Relation of the Laws of Plato to the Institutions of Crete and Lacedaemon and to the Laws and Constitution of Athens
Socrates is referenced in relation to his paradox that 'All vice is involuntary' and his criticism of election by lot.
Appendix I
Socrates advises Alcibiades on self-improvement and the pursuit of virtue, claiming divine guidance and stressing the importance of education.
Lesser Hippias
Leads the dialectical inquiry, arguing the paradoxical position that voluntary wrongdoing is better than involuntary, while expressing his own perplexity.
Lesser Hippias
Leads the inquiry, questioning Hippias about voluntary vs. involuntary wrongdoing and the nature of the good man.
First Alcibiades
Socrates cross-examines Alcibiades, leading him to confess his ignorance and urging him to pursue self-knowledge and virtue before entering politics.
First Alcibiades
Leads the dialogue, using the metaphor of the eye and mirror to explain self-knowledge, and warns Alcibiades about the dangers of ignorant ambition.
Menexenus
Engages Menexenus in dialogue about funeral orations, claims to have learned rhetoric from Aspasia, and recites a speech he attributes to her.
Menexenus
Engages Menexenus in dialogue about the upcoming funeral oration, criticizes the art of rhetoric, and recites Aspasia's speech.
Appendix II
Leads the dialogue, arguing that knowledge of the best is essential for benefit, and that opinion without intelligence leads to harm.
Second Alcibiades
Leads the dialogue, questioning Alcibiades about knowledge, ignorance, and the best course of action.
Eryxias
Leads the discussion on wealth and virtue, challenging assumptions and guiding the argument.
Eryxias
Leads the dialogue, questioning Critias and Eryxias on wealth, need, and wisdom, and recounts a story about Prodicus.
Endnotes
Referenced in multiple endnotes citing dialogues such as Cratylus, Phaedrus, Republic, and Gorgias.
