Thrasymachus

Thrasymachus (c. 459 – c. 400 BC) was a sophist of ancient Greece, best known as a character in Plato's "Republic." He was a citizen of Chalcedon, on the Bosphorus, and spent his career as a sophist in Athens. He is credited with enhancing the rhythmic quality of Greek oratory, particularly through the use of the paeonic rhythm, and with increasing the use of gesture to evoke emotion. Aristophanes makes a passing reference to Thrasymachus in a lost play dated to 427 BC, suggesting Thrasymachus was teaching in Athens by that time. Clement of Alexandria contrasts Thrasymachus with Archelaus of Macedon, indicating Thrasymachus was prominent in the late 5th century BC. Aristotle, in his "Politics," mentions a Thrasymachus who overthrew the democracy at Cyme, though it's uncertain if it's the same person. In "Sophistical Refutations," Aristotle credits Thrasymachus with a significant role in the development of rhetorical theory, placing him after Tisias and before Theodorus in a lineage of rhetorical innovators. Aristotle also attributes a witty simile to Thrasymachus in "Rhetoric" and notes a pun on his name by Herodicus. Plato mentions Thrasymachus in "Phaedrus" as a rhetorician but attributes no specific ideas to him. The Suda describes Thrasymachus as a Chalcedonian sophist who pioneered period and colon in rhetoric. Dionysius of Halicarnassus praised Thrasymachus' rhetorical skills but considered him second-rate compared to Lysias. The longest surviving fragment of Thrasymachus' writing, likely from a political speech, is preserved by Dionysius. In Plato's "Republic," Thrasymachus famously defines justice as "the advantage of the stronger" (338c) and argues that injustice is more profitable than justice. His role in the dialogue and the interpretation of his ideas have been subjects of philosophical discussion.