On the Authenticity of Protagoras’ Myth and its Role in Plato’s Protagoras

Abstract

The article discusses the thesis according to which Protagoras’ myth in the dialogue of the same name by Plato originates in its core from the historical Protagoras. Although the author aligns with this thesis’ supporters, the analysis of the myth in the context of the dialogue as a whole, including dramatic features of the latter, allows her to presume that the myth is intended not so much to convey the views of the famous sophist as to contribute to the creation of the satirical image of his through which Plato ridicules Protagoras’ philosophical and pedagogical ambitions.