Sophists Flashcards
Hippias
Travelled Attica, taught the young upper class
Claimed earning 150,000 drachmas (Plato, Hippias Major)
Claimed knowledge on many topics
Damon “prompted Pericles in most of his measures.”
Aristotle, Athenaion Politea 27)
It also says Damon told Pericles to institute the policy of paying jurors for their service.
Anaxagoras
“There was one man more closely associated with Pericles than any other…Anaxagoras.” (Plutarch, Pericles 4)
“These were not the only advantages Pericles had of his association with Anaxagoras. It appears that he was also lifted by him above superstition.” (Plutarch, Pericles 6)
Diogenes says he was prosecuted, Plutarch disagrees.
Also tutored Euripides. Euripides espouses some anti-religious themes in his plays, is this the reason?
Protagoras
Man is the measure of all things
According to Diogenes Laertius, the outspoken agnostic position taken by Protagoras aroused anger, causing the Athenians to expel him from the city, and all copies of the book were collected and burned in the marketplace.
Diongenes Laertius Eval
Diogenes Laertius wrote in 200AD. May not be true. Not much of what he says is corroborated by other sources Sometimes contradicted (Anaxagoras)
Clouds
Shows them researching uselss things, doing stupid stuff
Aristophanes calls them “quacks” and “villains”.
Portrayal of rhetoric (right vs wrong argument)
Evaluation: Not well recieved. Came last place. Did people disagree with the portrayal? Also, the copy we have is an edited one, not the orignal.
“now all young people spend time at sophists’ institutes, not at wrestling arenas”
Aristophanes, Frogs
“Socrates: Do you really think, as people so often say, that your youth are corrupted by Sophists?”
Plato Republic Book 6
List of Sophists
Hippies Anaxagoras Damon Gorgias Protagoras
Beginning of Periclean building programme
448
Victory at Plataea and oath to not rebuild
479
Persian sack of Athens
480
When discussing Socrates, split into three sections
Official
Political
Personal
Source from Plato’s Apology
On Socrates
I have never been a teacher of anyone, but if anyone wants to listen to me talk, I have no grudged him this
I assign to you and god the task of judging me
Source from Xenophon’s Apology
On Socrates
Since I accept no gratuities from anyone
Xenophon says that “Socrates was so arrogant in court that he invited the jurors ill-will and more or less forced him to condemn him”
