Protagoras
by Plato · Πρωταγόρας
Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 390 BCE
- Language
- Greek
- Length
- Short · 70 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendProtagoras, translated by Stanley Lombardo and Karen BellHackett, 1992Fluent and dramatic, with an introduction by Michael Frede.
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Socrates accompanies a young friend to the house of Callias, where the famous sophist Protagoras is staying, and asks him whether virtue can be taught. Protagoras answers with a myth of human origins and a long speech claiming that everyone teaches it. Socrates presses him on whether the virtues are one or many, the two men wrangle over the proper way to argue, and by the end they have exchanged positions, Socrates arguing that virtue is knowledge and so must be teachable after all.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Protagoras are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
