Plato's Dialogues
This is a complete guide to all of Plato's dialogues, organized by period. Each dialogue links to free translations available online in English (MIT Classics) and Italian (LiberLiber).
Dialogues marked with a star (★) are recommended starting points for beginners.
Early Dialogues (Socratic Period)
Short, aporetic dialogues focused on definition and refutation. Socrates questions, exposes contradictions, and ends without definitive answers.
Apology
★ Start HereSocrates' defense at his trial in 399 BC. "The unexamined life is not worth living." The most accessible introduction to Socratic thought.
Crito
★ RecommendedShould Socrates escape from prison? A dialogue on justice, law, and civic duty. Short, dramatic, philosophically rich.
Euthyphro
★ RecommendedWhat is piety? Socrates questions Euthyphro on the way to trial. Classic example of Socratic elenchus.
Laches
What is courage? Two generals cannot define the virtue they are supposed to embody.
Charmides
What is temperance (sophrosyne)? Socrates questions the young Charmides and Critias.
Lysis
What is friendship (philia)? Socrates discusses love and affection with two young men.
Ion
On poetry and divine inspiration. Socrates questions a rhapsode about whether poetry is art or madness.
Protagoras
Can virtue be taught? Socrates debates the famous sophist. Long, dramatic, and philosophically dense.
Gorgias
Rhetoric versus philosophy. Is it better to do injustice or suffer it? Intense, confrontational dialogue.
Hippias Minor
Can one lie willingly? A paradoxical argument about intentional wrongdoing.
Middle Dialogues (Constructive Period)
Plato develops his own philosophy. Introduction of the Theory of Forms, immortality of the soul, and the ideal state.
Meno
★ RecommendedHow do we learn? Can virtue be taught? Introduces the theory of recollection (anamnesis). Perfect follow-up to Apology and Crito.
Phaedo
★ EssentialSocrates' final hours. Four proofs for the immortality of the soul. Dramatic, moving, and philosophically foundational.
Symposium
Seven speeches on love (eros). Socrates recounts the teachings of Diotima. Literary masterpiece, philosophically profound.
Republic
What is justice? The ideal state, the philosopher-king, the allegory of the cave. Plato's most famous and ambitious work.
Phaedrus
Love, rhetoric, and the nature of the soul. The chariot allegory. Plato's critique of writing.
Cratylus
On language: are names natural or conventional? Named after Plato's early teacher.
Euthydemus
Satire of sophistic argument. Two sophists demonstrate absurd logical tricks.
Late Dialogues (Critical Period)
Plato revises and complicates his earlier theories. More technical, less dramatic. Socrates often takes a background role.
Parmenides
Critique of the Theory of Forms. The young Socrates is refuted by Parmenides. Extremely difficult and technical.
Theaetetus
What is knowledge? Three definitions are examined and rejected. Ends in aporia.
Sophist
What is a sophist? Being and non-being. The Eleatic Stranger replaces Socrates as main speaker.
Statesman
What is a statesman? Political expertise and the art of ruling. Continuation of Sophist.
Philebus
Pleasure versus knowledge: which is the good? Metaphysical analysis of the one and the many.
Timaeus
Cosmology: the creation of the universe by the Demiurge. The world soul, the elements, astronomy.
Critias
The story of Atlantis. Unfinished dialogue, intended as sequel to Timaeus.
Laws
Plato's longest work. Detailed legislation for a second-best state. Practical, technical, exhaustive.
Letters
Attributed to Plato, though authenticity is debated.
Seventh Letter
Autobiographical letter about Plato's involvement in Sicilian politics. If authentic, our only direct statement from Plato.