Gwenda-lin Grewal
- Published in print:
- 2022
- Published Online:
- April 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780192849571
- eISBN:
- 9780191944673
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780192849571.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
Crito only saw Euthydemus. Socrates saddles him with another brother, Dionysodorus. The referents of the demonstrative pronouns used in the opening exchange between Socrates and Crito reflect the ...
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Crito only saw Euthydemus. Socrates saddles him with another brother, Dionysodorus. The referents of the demonstrative pronouns used in the opening exchange between Socrates and Crito reflect the ambiguity of identity that is to come as the dialogue unfolds. As the scene is set, the significance of the seating positions of Socrates and Cleinias in relation to Euthydemus and Dionysodorus pave the way for understanding who might be “on the left” (sinister). Crito’s perception of Alcibiades’ cousin, Cleinias, as more advanced than his own son, reveals his concerns about Critobulus as a motivating factor in the outer frame of the Euthydemus. Meanwhile, Alcibiades’ presence in the background of the internal conversation suggests that the previous whereabouts of Euthydemus and Dionysodorus may be connected to the Peloponnesian War. Alcibiades’ notorious side-switching is the political analogue to their alternation between one argument and its opposite.Less
Crito only saw Euthydemus. Socrates saddles him with another brother, Dionysodorus. The referents of the demonstrative pronouns used in the opening exchange between Socrates and Crito reflect the ambiguity of identity that is to come as the dialogue unfolds. As the scene is set, the significance of the seating positions of Socrates and Cleinias in relation to Euthydemus and Dionysodorus pave the way for understanding who might be “on the left” (sinister). Crito’s perception of Alcibiades’ cousin, Cleinias, as more advanced than his own son, reveals his concerns about Critobulus as a motivating factor in the outer frame of the Euthydemus. Meanwhile, Alcibiades’ presence in the background of the internal conversation suggests that the previous whereabouts of Euthydemus and Dionysodorus may be connected to the Peloponnesian War. Alcibiades’ notorious side-switching is the political analogue to their alternation between one argument and its opposite.
