Work
Socrates in Plato’s Euthyphro
On the eve of trial, Socrates questions a man certain he understands holiness. Plato’s inquiry shows the questioner separating example, definition, and cause until reaching the dilemma between divine approval and holy 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
Analyze Socratic definition-seeking, reconstruct the religious dilemma, and distinguish Platonic dramatic irony from historical evidence.
Short summary
On the eve of trial, Socrates questions a man certain he understands holiness. Plato’s inquiry shows the questioner separating example, definition, and cause until reaching the dilemma between divine approval and holy value.
Long summary
Euthyphro prepares to prosecute his father and treats the action as proof of religious expertise. Socrates seeks a common form for judging every act, then exposes divine disagreement, circularity, and obscurity in the notion of serving gods.
Euthyphro’s final departure leaves Socrates without the lesson he pretended to need for his defence. That irony is Plato’s choice. It illuminates the Socratic character by contrast without directly documenting what the historical jury heard.
Inside this work
The table of contents follows the divisions actually carried by the corpus.
Work › Reference
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_carrier
- Englishhistorical_translation
- Frenchhistorical_translation
- French AI-generated translation, non-officialCodex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
Source manifests: socrates.plato_euthyphro
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Socrates in Plato’s EuthyphroPlato