Gorgias / Edition 1

by Plato, Donald J. Zeyl

Overview

Taking the form of a dialogue between Socrates, Gorgias, Polus and Callicles, the Gorgias debates crucial questions about the nature of government. While the aspiring politician Callicles propounds the view that might is right, and the rhetorician Gorgias argues that oratory and the power to persuade represent 'the greatest good', Socrates insists on the duty of politicians to consider the welfare of their citizens -- a duty he believed had been dishonoured in the Athens of his time. The dialogue offers fascinating insights into how classical Athens was governed, as well as creating a theoretical framework that has been highly influential on subsequent political debate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780872200166
Publisher:	Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Publication date:	01/15/1987
Series:	Hackett Classics
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	136
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.) founded the Academy in Athens, the prototype of all Western universities, and wrote more than twenty philosophical dialogues.  

Walter Hamilton taught at Cambridge, Eton and Rugby and translated several Platonic texts for Penguin Classics.

Chris Emlyn-Jones teaches in the department of Classical Studies at the Open University and has published on Homer and Plato.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgements	vii
	Reference System Used in this Edition	ix
	Chronology	xi
	Introduction	xiii
	Further Reading	xxxviii
	A Note on the Text	xliii
A	Dialogue With Gorgias	3
B	Dialogue With Polus	27
C	Dialogue With Callicles	64
	Notes	139
	Glossary of Greek Terms	151
	Index	153

What People are Saying About This

Franklin E. Robinson

“Zeyl’s introduction is the best brief discussion of the Gorgias I have read...notes at the bottom of the page are well–chosen and helpful. Text is printed and bound in the highest professional standards and sold for the lowest possible price.”
—Franklin E. Robinson, Murray State University

Editorial Reviews

Zeyl’s introduction is the best brief discussion of the Gorgias I have read. . . . notes at the bottom of the page are well-chosen and helpful. Text is printed and bound in the highest professional standards and sold for the lowest possible price. --Franklin E. Robinson, Murray State University

From the Publisher

This is an excellent translation. It achieves a very high standard of accuracy and readability, two goals very difficult to attain in combination when it comes to such a master of prose and philosophical argument as Plato. Because of this the book is suitable for courses at all levels in philosophy, from introductory courses on Plato, or problems in Philosophy, to graduate seminars.”
—Gerasimos Santas

Teaching Philosophy