''Hermocrates'' (; el, Ἑρμοκράτης, Hermokrátēs) is a hypothetical

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...

, assumed to be the third part of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

's late trilogy along with ''

Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato *Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Greek ...

'' and ''

Critias Critias (; grc-gre, Κριτίας, ''Kritias''; c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian political figure and author. Born in Athens, Critias was the son of Callaeschrus and a first cousin of Plato's mother Perictione. He became a leading ...

''. No one knows exactly how ''Critias'' ended, as the ending to the book is currently lost, so historians have not been able to say exactly how Hermocrates would begin. In any case, the people that would have appeared are very likely to be the same as in the former dialogues –

Hermocrates Hermocrates (; grc-gre, Ἑρμοκράτης, c. 5th century – 407 BC) was an ancient Syracusan general during the Athenians' Sicilian Expedition in the midst of the Peloponnesian War. He is also remembered as a character in the ''Timaeus'' ...

, and

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

– and the unnamed companion mentioned at the beginning of the ''Timaeus'' might have unveiled his identity. The intention of Plato to write this third dialogue becomes evident among others, from the following passage of Critias: Hermocrates had only a small share of the conversation in the previous dialogues. Since the ''Critias'' recounted the story of the ideal state in ancient

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

of nine thousand years ago – and why it was able to repel the invasion by the imperialist naval power

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

– by referring to prehistoric accounts via

Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...

and the

Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...

, it might have been Hermocrates' task to tell how the imperialist naval power, into which Athens of Plato's lifetime had turned, had suffered a bitter defeat in the

Sicilian expedition The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place from 415–413 BC during the Peloponnesian War between Athens on one side and Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devast ...

against

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

and eventually in the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

against

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

– since he was a Syracusan ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'' during the time of the Sicilian expedition. The sequence of names of the three participants in these dialogues could also have a significance. The name of Timaeus is derived from the Greek word τιμάω, ''timaō'' meaning to pay honor to; the name of Critias is derived from the word κρίσις, ''krisis'' meaning judgment; and the name of Hermocrates, means gifted by

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...

, messenger of the gods.

In popular culture

In the video game ''

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis ''Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis'' is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by LucasArts and originally released on June 1, 1992 for Amiga, DOS and Macintosh. Almost a year later, it was reissued on CD-ROM as an enhance ...

'' the Lost Dialogue of Plato is known as the ''Hermocrates''. In the game, the book survived in Arabic translation, and was translated to English by one of the characters, and acts as an important tool for Dr. Jones throughout the game. Its contents, however, are about the location of Atlantis, entry to the city, and notes about its inhabitants and culture.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermocrates (Dialogue) Books about Atlantis Dialogues of Plato Hypothetical documents