Work
Euthyphro
Outside the court Socrates meets Euthyphro, who is prosecuting his own father in the name of piety. Their exchange tests several definitions of holiness and formulates the famous dilemma between divine will and moral value.
- Composition
- c. 399-390 BCE
Sources and precision
The internal chronology remains disputed. This range is a qualified reference point, not a certain year.
Confidence C · probable range
- Tradition
- Socratic and Platonic thought
- Period
- Antiquity
- Languages
- Ancient Greek · English · French
- Extent
- 15 passages · 6,994 words
Before reading
What you will learn
Distinguish example from definition, reconstruct Euthyphro’s dilemma, and understand how aporia changes a claim to religious expertise.
Short summary
Outside the court Socrates meets Euthyphro, who is prosecuting his own father in the name of piety. Their exchange tests several definitions of holiness and formulates the famous dilemma between divine will and moral value.
Long summary
Euthyphro successively proposes his own act, what pleases the gods, what all gods love, a part of justice, and a craft of divine service. Socrates repeatedly exposes the gap among example, property, and the essence being sought.
The dialogue ends with Euthyphro leaving and no definition secured. His initial confidence contrasts with the impiety charge awaiting Socrates. The scene connects conceptual inquiry, religious conflict, and dramatic irony without delivering a Platonic catechism.
Inside this work
The table of contents follows the divisions actually carried by the corpus.
Work › Stephanus page
Concepts covered
Historical context
The world around the text
The corpus manifests do not yet establish the precise place and circumstances of composition. The images below document the author’s world or the text’s transmission. They do not claim to show the exact scene of writing.
These are modern reconstructions. They situate a documented place, practice, or transmission and are not period documents.
What the world looked like
Classical Greek world, 5th century BCE
- State of technology
- Bronze, iron, pottery, simple cranes, and shipbuilding sustain cities. Power still comes mainly from people, animals, wind, and water.
- Science and knowledge
- Geometry, astronomy, inquiry into nature, and rational argument advance without modern measuring instruments or standardized experiments.
- Medicine and care
- Practitioners observe symptoms, diet, and seasons; healing sanctuaries and ritual treatment also remain common.
- Transport
- Walking and animals dominate on land. Sailing ships and triremes connect islands, ports, and colonies.
- Agriculture and food
- Small farms, grain, vines, olives, goats, and sheep shape the diet; harvests remain vulnerable to weather and war.
- Communication
- Public speech, messengers, and handwritten letters carry news. Theatre, the civic square, and the banquet are major social media.
- Clothing and fashion
- Women and men drape wool or linen as chitons, peploi, and cloaks. Garments are pinned, belted, and shaped by status rather than tailored like modern clothes.
Editions, translations, and provenance
The following carriers represent the text. They do not create new passage identities.
- Ancient Greekoriginal
- Englishhistorical_translation
- French AI-generated translation, non-officialCodex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
- Frenchhistorical_translation
- English AI-generated translation, non-officialCodex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
Source manifests: plato.euthyphro, plato.euthyphro_fr_carrier
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EuthyphroPlato