Protarchus of Athens

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Protarchus of Athens was an educated member of the upper class in ancient Athens . Apparently he was a sophist, or at least influenced by sophistry. But he also belonged to the circle of the philosopher Socrates , a sharp opponent of sophistry. However, it is controversial whether he actually lived or is just a literary figure. If historical, he lived in the late 5th century BC. And maybe in the 4th century BC. Chr.

Protarchus is Socrates' main interlocutor in Plato's Dialogue with Philebos . There he is referred to as the "son of Callias". In research it is controversial whether this refers to the rich Athenian who in the research literature “ Callias III. " is called. Dorothea Frede suspects that he was one of the two sons of Kallias III. mentioned in Plato's Apology ; in this case he was the brother of Hipponikos III. and was instructed in his youth by the sophist Euenos of Paros. Plato's dialogue figure in Philebos shows that he is a student of the rhetorician Gorgias von Leontinoi . However, it must be reckoned with the possibility that Plato invented the figure of Protarchus as well as the title figure of the dialogue, Philebus.

It is possible that Plato's Protarchus can be identified with an author - apparently a rhetorician - of this name, whom Aristotle quotes.

literature

  • Luc Brisson : Protarque . In: Richard Goulet (Ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 5, Part 2, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-271-07399-0 , p. 1708
  • Debra Nails: The People of Plato. A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics . Hackett, Indianapolis 2002, ISBN 0-87220-564-9 , p. 257
  • Dorothea Frede: Plato: Philebos. Translation and commentary (= Plato: Works , edited by Ernst Heitsch and Carl Werner Müller , Volume III 2). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2002, ISBN 3-525-30409-9 , pp. 95-97

Remarks

  1. ^ Plato, Philebos 19b.
  2. ↑ Dorothea Frede pleads for this identification: Plato: Philebos. Translation and Commentary , Göttingen 1997, p. 95; in contrast, Debra Nails: The People of Plato , Indianapolis 2002, p. 257.
  3. ^ Dorothea Frede: Plato: Philebos. Translation and commentary , Göttingen 2002, p. 95.
  4. ^ Plato, Philebos 58a – b.
  5. ↑ Luc Brisson: Protarque . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 5, Part 2, Paris 2012, p. 1708.
  6. ↑ Aristotle, Physics 197b. See William David Ross (Ed.): Aristotle's Physics , Oxford 1936, p. 522.
personal data
SURNAME Protarchus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION ancient Greek philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH 5th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 5th century BC BC or 4th century BC Chr.