# Athenian Stranger — Dialogues character guide > Athenian Stranger in Dialogues by Plato. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Stranger, the Eleatic Stranger, Athenian Stranger, Stranger Excellent, Stranger Strange, Stranger Carding, Stranger Anyone, Stranger Reflect, Stranger Such a one, the Eleatic stranger, the philosophical stranger **First appearance:** 0097-laws ## Snapshot An unnamed Athenian philosopher who leads two old men on a walking tour of Crete, using their laws as a springboard for imagining a just city from scratch. ## Who they are He arrives as a visitor among Cretans and Spartans, yet quickly becomes the guiding voice, drawing out his companions' institutions and then pressing them to justify what they have always taken for granted. His method is patient and digressive, but beneath it lies a conviction that law must be grounded in reason and reverence for the divine, not merely custom. He matters because he turns a casual pilgrimage into a sustained inquiry into how human beings should live together—and whether anyone can say. ## In the story ### [On the Ideas of Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/on-the-ideas-of-plato) Implied in references to the Laws and the later development of Platonic philosophy. ### [Sophist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/sophist) Leads the dialogue as the Eleatic Stranger, guiding the inquiry into the nature of the sophist. ### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis) The Eleatic Stranger who leads the inquiry into the Sophist and the nature of Not-being. ### [Sophist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/sophist) The Eleatic Stranger who leads the investigation into the nature of the sophist, statesman, and philosopher. ### [Statesman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/statesman) The Eleatic Stranger serves as the primary interlocutor, guiding the discussion on the nature of the statesman and political knowledge. ### [Statesman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/statesman) Leads the dialogue, explaining the royal art of weaving together courageous and temperate natures, and analyzing forms of government. ### [Laws](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/laws) Leads the dialogue on the purpose and structure of laws. ### [Introduction and Analysis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/introduction-and-analysis) The primary speaker who proposes the laws, discusses justice, education, and the election of magistrates. ### [Laws](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/laws) The primary speaker, guiding the discussion on legislation and the persuasion of citizens toward virtue. ### [Book I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-i) Leads the discussion on legislation, virtue, and education, critiquing the Spartan and Cretan emphasis on war. ### [Book II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-ii) Leads the discussion on education, pleasure, and justice, proposing the use of choruses and legislation to align pleasure with virtue. ### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-iii) Leads the discussion on government, virtue, and the distribution of honor in states. ### [Book IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-iv) Leads the discussion on legislation, advocating for persuasive prefaces to laws and the ideal of a virtuous tyrant working with a legislator. ### [Book V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-v) Delivers the main discourse on legislation, the soul, wealth, and the ideal city layout. ### [Book VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-vi) Leads the discussion on the division of the state, the number 5,040, and the laws governing marriage and civic offices. ### [Book VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-vii) The primary speaker, outlining laws and principles for education and upbringing. ### [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-viii) Leads the discussion on the causes of civic decay and proposes laws for military training and regulation of love. ### [Book IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-ix) Leads the discussion on legislation for crimes, distinguishing between voluntary and involuntary actions and the role of ignorance. ### [Book X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-x) Delivers a lengthy discourse on divine justice, the soul's journey, and the necessity of public worship. ### [Book XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-xi) The primary speaker who proposes detailed laws regarding orphans, marriage, slander, comic poetry, beggars, and property. ### [Book XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/book-xii) The primary speaker, proposing laws on military discipline, funerals, and the preservation of the state. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters/the_athenian_stranger - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/characters