Lesser+Hippias

Literapedia Book Notes for
=//Lesser Hippias// by Plato=

Characters

 * **Eudicus**—a friend of Socrates
 * **Socrates**—a man in search of truth
 * **Hippias**—a man who is full of himself

Background to “Lesser Hippias”

 * 1) Hippias is a professional lecturer who is extremely interested in argument for argument's sake.
 * 2) Socrates believes that the ability to be virtuous is akin to the knowledge of a craft.
 * 3) Socratic paradox: “No one does wrong deliberately.”

Introduction (1-7)

 * 1) Hippias is a sophist.
 * 2) “...for since the day when I first entered the lists at Olympia, I have never found any man who was my superior at anything.”

Achilles vrs Odysseus (8-100)

 * 1) Hippias shows at best a limited understanding of Homer and at worst a misreading of the texts.
 * 2) Socrates knows Achilles and Odysseus are not the same, but he finds fault with Hippias's reading of the texts.

Socrates on Homer (101-125)

 * 1) Socrates shows his knowledge of Homer by quoting a number of different passages.
 * 2) Socrates broadens the argument to talk about right and wrong.

Intentional & Unintentional Misdeeds (126-234)

 * 1) It is not clear whether Socrates believes his conclusion, but he does believe much of what goes into the conclusion.

Book Note Creator
Hal Waller, instructor