
Euthyphro
by Plato
- First published
- 400 BC
- Reading level
- Plain English
- Price
- Free
About the book
"Euthyphro" by Plato is a philosophical dialogue written around 399 BC. Set outside an Athenian court, it follows Socrates as he awaits trial for impiety. He encounters Euthyphro, a confident prophet prosecuting his own father for murder. Socrates asks Euthyphro to define piety, sparking a rigorous examination that produces increasingly refined definitions—yet none prove satisfactory. Their discussion culminates in a famous dilemma about the gods' relationship to goodness, launching a debate that continues millennia later.
- Classical literature
- Piety
- Socrates, 470 BC-399 BC
- Philosophy, Ancient
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #1642. Euthyphro on Wikipedia.











