# Socrates — Dialogues character guide > Socrates in Dialogues by Plato. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Young Socrates, Socrates Mark, Socrates Nor, Socrates Oedipus, Socrates Madness, Socrates Such, Socrates Theaetetus, Socrates Here, Socrates Polus, Socrates O, Socrates O Hippias, Socrates The wise, Socrates Philebus, Socrates Eryxias Erasistratus Critias, Socrates Euthyphro, Socrates Poseidon, Socrates Lysimachus, Socrates Menexenus Socrates, Socrates Dear Crito, Socrates Beloved Pan **First appearance:** 0004-dialogues ## Snapshot A barefoot Athenian who claims to know nothing and then dismantles everyone else's certainty with patient, maddening questions. ## Who they are Socrates moves through Athens as a self-described common man who only speaks the truth, cornering rhapsodes, generals, and sophists until their expertise collapses into contradiction. His irony cuts both ways: he insists he is no expert while exposing the gap between what others profess and what they actually know, as when he traps Ion into admitting that a man who judges one poet well should judge all poets alike. That tension between humility and relentless interrogation makes him the engine of nearly every dialogue, the fixed point around which the argument turns. ## Relationships ### [Alcibiades](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/alcibiades) _psychological_ Alcibiades is both enamored and frustrated by Socrates, seeking his approval while being intellectually and emotionally dominated by him. ### [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/plato) _professional_ Plato is Socrates' devoted student and literary chronicler, immortalizing his teacher's dialogues. ### [Ion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/ion) _rivalry_ Socrates challenges Ion's claims about being a rhapsode with divine inspiration, exposing his lack of true knowledge. ### [Homer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/homer) _psychological_ Socrates frequently references Homer as a revered but flawed authority, using his epics to critique poetic knowledge. ### [Nicias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/nicias) _friendship_ Nicias is a general and friend of Socrates, portrayed as a thoughtful but cautious figure in the Laches. ### [Cleinias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/cleinias) _friendship_ Cleinias appears in the Euthydemus as a young man being educated, with Socrates acting as his philosophical mentor. ### [Theaetetus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/theaetetus) _professional_ Socrates questions the young mathematician Theaetetus about the nature of knowledge in a midwifery-like dialogue. ### [Prodicus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/prodicus) _rivalry_ Prodicus is a Sophist whom Socrates respectfully but critically engages, often mocking his verbal precision. ### [Lysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/lysis) _friendship_ Lysis is a young boy in the Lysis, with Socrates gently guiding him through a discussion on friendship. ### [Parmenides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/parmenides) _professional_ Parmenides is the elder philosopher who rigorously examines young Socrates' theory of Forms in the Parmenides. ### [Glaucon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/glaucon) _friendship_ Glaucon is Socrates' brother and a spirited debater, pushing Socrates to defend justice more rigorously. ### [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/plato) _professional_ Plato is Socrates' devoted student and literary chronicler, immortalizing his teacher's dialogues. ## In the story ### [Preface to the Second and Third Editions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/preface-to-the-second-and-third-editions) Referenced indirectly through comparisons to Platonic dialogues such as the Republic and Phaedrus. ### [Dialogues](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/dialogues) Central figure in the dialogues, guiding discussions on justice and virtue. ### [Charmides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/charmides) Returns from Potidaea and leads the inquiry into the nature of temperance. ### [Charmides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/charmides) Leads the inquiry into temperance, recounts the Thracian charm, and expresses frustration at his inability to define wisdom. ### [Lysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/lysis) Leads the dialogue, questioning Lysis and Menexenus about friendship. ### [Some Questions Relating to Friendship](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/some-questions-relating-to-friendship) Referenced as the questioner in the Lysis, asking about the nature of friendship. ### [Lysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/lysis) Leads the philosophical inquiry into the nature of friendship, questioning Lysis and Menexenus. ### [Laches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/laches) Leads the inquiry into the definition of courage, questioning Laches and Nicias. ### [Laches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/laches) Leads the inquiry into courage and education, cross-examining Nicias and Laches. ### [Protagoras](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/protagoras) The main interlocutor who challenges Protagoras on the teachability of virtue and the unity of the virtues. ### [Protagoras](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/euthydemus) Narrates and participates in the dialogue, seeking to guide Cleinias toward genuine knowledge. ### [Euthydemus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/euthydemus) Socrates leads the dialogue, questioning the sophists and guiding Cleinias toward a serious understanding of virtue and wisdom. ### [Cratylus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/cratylus) Leads the discussion on the correctness of names. ### [Cratylus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/cratylus) Leads the discussion on the correctness of names and the nature of knowledge. ### [Phaedrus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/phaedrus) Engages Phaedrus in philosophical discussion on love and rhetoric. ### [On the Decline of Greek Literature](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/phaedrus) Engages in dialogue with Phaedrus about rhetoric, writing, and philosophy; delivers a prayer to Pan. ### [Ion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/ion) Socrates questions Ion about the nature of his rhapsodic skill, arguing it stems from divine inspiration rather than knowledge. ### [Ion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/ion) Socrates questions Ion about his art and knowledge, leading the discussion to conclude that Ion's skill is due to divine inspiration. ### [Symposium](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/symposium) Delivers the central speech on love, recounting Diotima's wisdom. ### [Symposium](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/symposium) Recounts Diotima's teachings on love as the desire for the everlasting possession of the good and procreation in beauty. ### [Meno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/on-the-ideas-of-plato) Referenced as the speaker in dialogues where the theory of ideas is discussed. ### [Meno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/meno) Leads the dialogue, professing ignorance of virtue and guiding Meno through dialectical inquiry. ### [Euthyphro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/euthyphro) Socrates initiates the dialogue, questioning Euthyphro about piety and impiety while facing his own indictment for impiety. ### [Euthyphro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/euthyphro) Engages Euthyphro in a philosophical inquiry about piety, seeking to understand the essence of piety to defend himself against Meletus's indictment. ### [Apology](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/apology) The defendant delivering his apologia before the Athenian jury. ### [Apology](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/apology) The central speaker, defending his life and philosophical mission before the Athenian jury. ### [Crito](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/crito) The protagonist, calmly awaiting execution and engaging in philosophical dialogue about justice and obedience to law. ### [Crito](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/crito) The protagonist, calmly debating whether to escape prison, ultimately choosing to obey the laws of Athens. ### [Phaedo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/phaedo) Central figure; presents arguments for the immortality of the soul and calmly faces his own death. ### [Phaedo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/phaedo) Central figure; leads the discussion on the soul's immortality and the afterlife. ### [Gorgias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/gorgias) Leads the dialogue, challenging the value of rhetoric and advocating for justice and philosophy. ### [The Myths of Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/gorgias) Leads the discussion, defining rhetoric as flattery and arguing for the primacy of justice and virtue over pleasure. ### [Republic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/republic) Central figure leading the dialogue on justice and the ideal state. ### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/the-republic) Main speaker; discusses the philosopher's nature, education, and the necessity of ruling. ### [Book I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-i) Socrates leads the discussion, questioning Thrasymachus and defending the value of justice. ### [Book II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-ii) Accepts the challenge to defend justice, proposing to examine it in the larger context of the city. ### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-iii) Leads the discussion on education, censorship of poetry, and the harmony of music and gymnastic. ### [Book IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-vi) Leads the discussion on the Form of the Good and the fate of philosophers in society. ### [Book VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-vii) Leads the discussion on the education of guardians and the allegory of the cave. ### [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-viii) Main speaker; describes the decline of constitutions and the corresponding individual types. ### [Book IX: The Tyrannical Soul and the Superiority of Justice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-ix) 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-x) Leads the discussion on the soul's immortality, recounts the Myth of Er, and argues against imitative poetry. ### [Timaeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/timaeus) Present as a listener; sets the stage for Timaeus's account. ### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis) Referenced for his final causes and educational philosophy, contrasted with pre-Socratic thinkers. ### [Timaeus I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/i) Opens the dialogue by summarizing the Republic and expressing a wish to see the ideal state in action. ### [§ II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/ii) Mentioned as a contemporary of Plato, part of the intellectual context of the early philosophers. ### [§ IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/iv) Referenced indirectly through the Republic and Phaedrus for comparisons with Plato's cosmology. ### [§ V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/v) Referenced indirectly through Platonic dialogues; the chapter discusses ideas attributed to him. ### [§ VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/vi) Referenced in the context of the Charmides dialogue regarding the cure of the body through the soul. ### [§ VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/vii) Referenced in the context of the Republic (VI 507, 508) regarding the process of sight. ### [§ VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/viii) Referenced in relation to final causes and the idea of good, contrasted with pre-Socratic philosophers. ### [Timaeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/critias) Present as an interlocutor, encouraging Critias to continue his narrative. ### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis) Socrates is the interlocutor who grants indulgence to Critias and Hermocrates, and who praises Critias in the Timaeus. ### [Critias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/critias) Socrates grants indulgence to Critias and Hermocrates, and announces the judgment of the theatre. ### [Parmenides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/parmenides) Appears as a young philosopher who presents and defends the theory of Forms against Parmenides' criticisms. ### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis) Appears as a young philosopher engaging with Parmenides and Zeno, questioning the nature of ideas and participation. ### [Parmenides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/parmenides) Socrates presents his theory of ideas and participation, and is challenged by Parmenides to deepen his philosophical training. ### [Theaetetus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/theaetetus) Leads the inquiry into the definition of knowledge, questioning Theaetetus and guiding the dialectic. ### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis) Leads the discussion, refuting Protagoras and examining the nature of knowledge, perception, and the philosopher's character. ### [Theaetetus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis) Socrates' namesake, mentioned in the context of the Statesman dialogue and Socrates' jest about relationship. ### [Sophist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/sophist) Initiates the dialogue, welcomes the Eleatic Stranger, and proposes the method of question and answer. ### [Sophist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/sophist) Present as a silent auditor, mentioned as a potential helper for Theaetetus. ### [Statesman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/statesman) Young Socrates responds to the Stranger's questions, helping to refine the definition of the statesman through dialectic. ### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis) Mentioned in the context of the 'Protagoras' and his stance on virtue. ### [Statesman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/statesman) Engages in the discussion, asking clarifying questions about the statesman's art and the classification of governments. ### [Philebus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/philebus) Leads the discussion on the nature of the good life, arguing for the supremacy of knowledge over pleasure. ### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis) Referenced as a key figure in ancient philosophy and as a participant in the Philebus dialogue. ### [Philebus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/appendix-i) Socrates advises Alcibiades on self-improvement and the pursuit of virtue, claiming divine guidance and stressing the importance of education. ### [Lesser Hippias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/lesser-hippias) Leads the dialectical inquiry, arguing the paradoxical position that voluntary wrongdoing is better than involuntary, while expressing his own perplexity. ### [Lesser Hippias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/lesser-hippias) Leads the inquiry, questioning Hippias about voluntary vs. involuntary wrongdoing and the nature of the good man. ### [First Alcibiades](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/menexenus) Engages Menexenus in dialogue about funeral orations, claims to have learned rhetoric from Aspasia, and recites a speech he attributes to her. ### [Menexenus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/menexenus) Engages Menexenus in dialogue about the upcoming funeral oration, criticizes the art of rhetoric, and recites Aspasia's speech. ### [Appendix II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/second-alcibiades) Leads the dialogue, questioning Alcibiades about knowledge, ignorance, and the best course of action. ### [Eryxias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/eryxias) Leads the discussion on wealth and virtue, challenging assumptions and guiding the argument. ### [Eryxias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/eryxias) Leads the dialogue, questioning Critias and Eryxias on wealth, need, and wisdom, and recounts a story about Prodicus. ### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/endnotes) Referenced in multiple endnotes citing dialogues such as Cratylus, Phaedrus, Republic, and Gorgias. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/socrates - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters