''Eryxias'' (; ) is a
Socratic dialogue
Socratic dialogue () is a genre of literary prose developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC. The earliest ones are preserved in the works of Plato and Xenophon and all involve Socrates as the protagonist. These dialogues, and subse ...
attributed to
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
, but which is considered spurious. It is set in the
Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios
The Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios was a two-aisled stoa located in the northwest corner of the Ancient Agora of Athens. It was built c. 425 BC–410 BC for religious purposes in dedication to Zeus under his epithet ''Eleutherios'' ("pertaining to freedo ...
, and features
Socrates
Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...
in conversation with
Critias
Critias (; , ''Kritias''; – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian poet, philosopher and political leader. He is known today for being a student of Socrates, a writer of some regard, and for becoming the leader of the Thirty Tyrants, who ruled Athens ...
,
Eryxias, and
Erasistratus
Erasistratus (; ; c. 304 – c. 250 BC) was a Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. Along with fellow physician Herophilus, he founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where they carried out anatomical research ...
(nephew of
Phaeax).
[A. E. Taylor, (2001), ''Plato: the man and his work'', page 548. Dover]
The dialogue concerns the topic of
wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...
and
virtue
A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...
. The position of Eryxias that it is good to be materially prosperous is defeated when Critias argues that having money is not always a good thing. Socrates then shows that money has only a conventional value.
[John Madison Cooper, D. S. Hutchinson, (1997), ''Plato, Complete works'', page 1718. Hackett Publishing] In an argument addressed to Critias, Socrates concludes that money can never be considered useful, even when it is used to buy something useful.
The final conclusion of the ''Eryxias'' is that the most wealthy are the most wretched because they have so many material wants.
[William Keith Chambers Guthrie, (1986), A history of Greek philosophy, page 397. Cambridge University Press]
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Dialogues of Plato
Appendix Platonica