What They're Arguing About
Socrates waits near the King Archon's office to answer a formal charge of impiety brought by Meletus. He encounters Euthyphro, a professional diviner busy prosecuting his own father for murder. The case involves a poor dependant of the family who killed a domestic slave in Naxos; Euthyphro's father had the killer bound and thrown into a ditch, where the man died of hunger and exposure while awaiting instructions from Athens. Socrates latches onto this domestic legal battle to demand a precise definition of piety. As the two move through various attempts to isolate the divine nature of holy actions, Socrates systematically picks apart each logical inconsistency. Euthyphro eventually claims he is in a hurry and departs, leaving the inquiry unresolved.
Speakers
- Socrates
Defendant awaiting trial who questions everyone’s logic
- Euthyphro
Diviner and self-appointed prosecutor of his own father
- Meletus
The man with the ill-grown beard accusing Socrates
What it's really about
- Piety
- Defining duty toward the divine.
- Logic
- The danger of circular reasoning.
Why it's memorable
- Meletus described as having a hooked beak and an ill-grown beard.
- Euthyphro abandoning the conversation as soon as the logic traps tighten.
What they conclude
Socrates is left alone with his mounting legal troubles while his expert witness flees into the streets.
For your book club
- Can we define piety without simply stating what gods love?
- Does legal action against family require absolute moral certainty?