Hermogenes ( grc-gre, Ἑρμογένης; fl. 5th–4th century BC) was an ancient Athenian philosopher best remembered as a close friend of

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 ...

as depicted by

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 ...

and

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...

Life

Hermogenes was the son of

Hipponicus Hipponicus (; el, Ἱππόνικος; ±485 – 422/1 BCE) was an Athenian military commander. He was the son of Callias II of the deme Alopece and Elpinice of Laciadae (sister of Cimon). He was known as the "richest man in Greece". Shortly af ...

, brother of the wealthy

Callias Callias ( gr, Καλλίας, Kallias) was an Ancient Greek statesman, soldier and diplomat, active in 5th century BC. He is commonly known as Callias II to distinguish him from his grandfather, Callias I, and from his grandson, Callias III, who a ...

, and resident of the

Alopece Alopece (Ancient Greek: Ἀλωπεκή, romanised: Alopeke, also spelt as Alopecae) was an asty-deme of the city of Athens, but located exterior to the city wall of Athens. Alopece was situated only eleven or twelve stadia from the city, and n ...

deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...

alongside Socrates. Although he belonged to the great family of Callias, he is mentioned by

as a man of very little property, suggesting that he may have been an illegitimate son of Hipponicus. Plato, on the other hand, suggests that he was unjustly deprived of his property by Callias, his brother. He is an interlocutor in Plato's ''

Cratylus Cratylus ( ; grc, Κρατύλος, ''Kratylos'') was an ancient Athenian philosopher from the mid-late 5th century BCE, known mostly through his portrayal in Plato's dialogue '' Cratylus''. He was a radical proponent of Heraclitean philosophy ...

'' dialogue, 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 the

trial of Socrates The trial of Socrates (399 BC) was held to determine the philosopher's guilt of two charges: '' asebeia'' ( impiety) against the pantheon of Athens, and corruption of the youth of the city-state; the accusers cited two impious acts by Socra ...

in his '' Apology'', and Plato includes Hermogenes in the list of individuals present at Socrates' execution. Diogenes Laërtius states that he was one of the teachers of Plato,Diogenes Laërtius, iii. 6 but this claim does not appear elsewhere in the surviving literature.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermogenes 5th-century BC Athenians 4th-century BC Athenians Socrates

Life

See also

Notes

References