Protagoras’ Great Speech

Abstract

This article seeks to present a detailed textual analysis of Protagoras’ Great Speech in Plato'sProtagoras(320c–328d). I will argue that the concept of ἀρετή (‘excellence’ or ‘virtue’) as it appears in the Great Speech is whittled down to a vague notion of civic duty. In this respect, Protagoras is bringing himself in line with the democracy, but in doing so the ἀρετή he claims to teach loses much of its initial appeal, particularly in the eyes of his aristocratic clientele. Nevertheless, if thecontentof Protagoras’ Great Speech overlooks the abilities required to rise to political prominence, theformmost assuredly does not. As one would expect from Plato's Protagoras, his speech is replete with just that oratorical prowess his students might expect to acquire from him. This, in turn, has a number of interesting and important implications in the broader context of theProtagoras, in particular regarding the contrast or conflict between long speeches and short-answer dialectic. Moreover, although it has long been noticed that Protagoras neglects rhetoric and personal pre-eminence in his account, as far as I know there has not been any serious attempt to analyse the stylistic aspects of this masterful speech. Accordingly, both this and (to a large extent) my attempt to interpret it within the economy of the dialogue are original.

Meno and the Slave

“…Adkins famously distinguished between ‘competitive’ and ‘co-operative’ virtue; he discusses the ambiguities of aretē in Protagoras’ Great Speech in Adkins (1973) 3–12. Similar issues are discussed by Maguire (1977) 105 and especially Nathan (2017) e.g. 380–2, 384–5 and 395–7.…”