Likeness of an Athenian tyrannical son. Young Hipocrates in Plato's Protagoras

Abstract

The Socratic narration in Plato's Protagoras begins with the appearance of a young man. Early in the morning, a boy who had just learned that the sophist from Abdera is in town and who is yearning to meet him, goes to Socrates to request his accompanying. It is for this young man, and thanks to him, that Socrates, after a careful examination, decides to attend the gathering at Callias' house to converse with Protagoras. According to the narrative, the boy is the true catalyst for Socrates' attention and dedication to the sophist and, consequently, the real promoter and instigator of the dialogue. This paper mainly aims at shedding some light on the ethos and psychology of this young man named Hippocrates. Far from the picture often presented of him, merely of an innocent and helpless young man exposed at the dangers of the sophists’ teachings, this work stresses the boldness and excitement of a passionate and impulsive fellow whose irrationality is a potential threat not only for himself, but especially for those surrounding. In addition to the analysis of his ethos and psychology, the paper opens discussing to what extent and in what sense Hippocrates may be considered an associate of Socrates, and ends up speculating, relying on the Protagoras, about the possible causes that brought to the corruption of the souls of youth’s as such.