Prodicus
Sign in to saveAlso known as Prodicus of Ceos
thumb|The Choice of Hercules, by Annibale Carracci, depicting the fable recounted by Prodicus Prodicus of Ceos (; , Pródikos ho Keios; c. 465 BC – c. 395 BC) was a Greek philosopher, and part of the first generation of Sophists. He came to Athens as ambassador from Ceos, and became known as a speaker and a teacher. Plato treats him with greater respect than the other sophists, and in several of the Platonic dialogues Socrates appears as the friend of Prodicus. One writer claims Socrates used his method of instruction. Prodicus made linguistics and ethics prominent in his curriculum. The conten
OverviewAI-generated
Prodicus was a male philosopher and diplomat who worked within the movements of sophism and Pre-Socratic philosophy. Born in Kea, he died in Athens. His dates of birth are recorded as 460 BCE and 464 BCE, while his death occurred in 380 BCE. He held the position of ambassador and identified with atheism. Prodicus wrote in Ancient Greek, which was also the language he spoke.
His notable works include *Epicteti Manuale*, *Cebetis Thebani Tabula*, *Prodici Hercules, et Theophrasti Characteres ethici*, and *Judgment of Hercules*. He was associated with the significant places of Kea and Chios. Among his students were Xenophon, Theramenes, and Isocrates. Prodicus is described in sources such as the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary and the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition.
Synthesized by Vinony from 21 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, Crossref, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 1
Top works
- Epicteti Manuale, Cebetis Thebani Tabula, Prodici Hercules, et Theophrasti Characteres ethici
- Judgment of Hercules
via Open Library + Wikidata
Recent publications · Crossref
3 total works indexed
- Testimonia, Part 3: Reception (R)
· 2016
- Testimonia, Part 1: Person (P)
· 2016
- Testimonia, Part 2: Doctrine (D)
· 2016
via Crossref · CC0
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Life
- Teachings
- Linguistics
- Ethics
- Naturalism
- Notes
- References
thumb|The Choice of Hercules, by Annibale Carracci, depicting the fable recounted by Prodicus Prodicus of Ceos (; , Pródikos ho Keios; c. 465 BC – c. 395 BC) was a Greek philosopher, and part of the first generation of Sophists. He came to Athens as ambassador from Ceos, and became known as a speaker and a teacher. Plato treats him with greater respect than the other sophists, and in several of the Platonic dialogues Socrates appears as the friend of Prodicus. One writer claims Socrates used his method of instruction. Prodicus made linguistics and ethics prominent in his curriculum. The content of one of his speeches is still known, and concerns a fable in which Heracles has to make a choice between Virtue and Vice. He also interpreted religion through the framework of naturalism.
==Life== Prodicus was a native of Ioulis on the island of Ceos, the birthplace of Simonides, whom he is described as having imitated. Prodicus came frequently to Athens for the purpose of transacting business on behalf of his native city, and attracted admiration as an orator, although his voice was deep and apt to fall. Plutarch describes him as slender and weak; and Plato also alludes to his weakness, and a degree of effeminacy which thus resulted. Philostratus accuses him of luxury and avarice, but no earlier source mentions this.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Prodicus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.