The Republic
by Plato

The Republic: Setting 1 key example

Definition of Setting

Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition

Key Examples in The Republic

Setting
Explanation and Analysis—Cephalus's House:

The Republic takes place inside Polemarchus and his father Cephalus's house, in Piraeus, the port city of Athens. Technically The Republic is Socrates recalling a conversation he had the day prior, although that fact is so subtle that it goes largely unnoticed by the reader (unless they happen to have read Plato's Timaeus). Cephalus is a wealthy, elderly merchant—his name literally translates to "head," as in head of the household. Cephalus and his son are both friends of Socrates and are very welcoming to him as interlocutors and as guests.