Hermogenes (philosopher)
Hermogenes(Greek:Ἑρμογένης;fl. 5th–4th century BC) was anancient Athenianphilosopherbest remembered as a close friend ofSocratesas depicted byPlatoandXenophon.
Life[edit]
Hermogenes was the son ofHipponicus,brother of the wealthyCallias,and resident of theAlopecedemealongside Socrates. Although he belonged to the great family of Callias, he is mentioned byXenophonas a man of very little property,[1]suggesting that he may have been an illegitimate son of Hipponicus.[2]Plato, on the other hand, suggests that he was unjustly deprived of his property by Callias, his brother.[3]
He is an interlocutor in Plato'sCratylusdialogue, where he maintains that all the words of a language were formed by an agreement of people amongst themselves. Xenophon cites Hermogenes as his source on thetrial of Socratesin hisApology,and Plato includes Hermogenes in the list of individuals present at Socrates' execution.Diogenes Laërtiusstates that he was one of the teachers of Plato,[4]but this claim does not appear elsewhere in the surviving literature.
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^Xenophon,Memorabilia,ii. 10. § 3,Symposium,i. 3,Apology,2
- ^Debra Nails,The People of Plato,Hackett Publishing: 2002; pp. 163
- ^Plato,Cratylus
- ^Diogenes Laërtius, iii. 6
References[edit]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Smith, William,ed. (1870). "Hermogenes (2)".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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