Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Gorgias, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Practice and Goal of Oratory
Justice, Injustice, and the Treatment of the Soul
The Pleasant Life vs. the Good Life
Philosophy vs. Politics
Summary
Analysis
Callicles, Socrates, and Chaerephon are talking outside of a public building where Gorgias has just delivered a lecture. Socrates and Chaerephon were too late for the lecture, but Chaerephon and Callicles both have personal connections with Gorgias, so it will be easy to get Gorgias to give Socrates a personal encore. But Socrates doesn’t want a performance; he’d prefer to have a dialogue.
The Greek term used for “lecture,” epideixis, refers to the kind of oratorical performance often given by sophists (popular, wandering orators) as a demonstration of their skill. This suggests that Gorgias was in high demand, and that his skills will play a central role in the dialogue. For his part, Socrates would prefer to exchange questions and answers with Gorgias, seeing this as a more straightforward mode of communication. The two types of speech reflect the two men’s respective ways of life: orator and philosopher.
Themes
Socrates wants to learn from Gorgias what his craft accomplishes—what it makes claims about and what it teaches. Callicles says that Gorgias is happy to answer any question, so Socrates gets Chaerephon to ask Gorgias “what he is.” For example, someone who makes shoes would be a cobbler. Gorgias has now joined them, and he boasts that nobody has asked him anything new in years. Polus chimes in, giving a miniature speech in which he claims that Gorgias participates in the most admirable craft, though he doesn’t say what it is.
The word translated “craft” is the Greek techne. At this point, it’s clear that for Socrates, a “craft” should be “about” something (meaning it progresses toward some specific end), and its practitioner must learn or produce something beneficial. Polus’s interjection—a lot of words saying little—might be Plato’s parody of Gorgias’s oratorical style.
Themes
Socrates says he’d rather hear it from Gorgias, since Polus seems more interested in oratory than in discussion. After all, Socrates didn’t ask what Gorgias’s craft is like, but what it is, and what Gorgias would be called. He redirects these questions to Gorgias himself, hoping for a briefer answer.
Socrates contrasts oratory with discussion, suggesting that oratory—composed, targeted speeches—is less useful than organic discussion for getting to the heart of a subject. It’s already clear that Socrates doesn’t hold oratory in high esteem.
Themes
