Cover of Euthyphro

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.

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