Image: A Student Commentary on Plato’s Euthyphro (University of Michigan Press) Dr. Charles Platter, Professor of Classics https://www.press.umich.edu/9698765/student_commentary_on_platos_euthyphro The Euthyphro is crucially important for understanding Plato’s presentation of the last days of Socrates, dramatized in four brief dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. In addition to narrating this evocative series of events in the life of Plato’s philosophical hero, the texts also can be read as reflecting how a wise man faces death. This particular dialogue contains Socrates’ vivid examination of the intentions of Euthyphro to prosecute his own father for murder and culminates in an attempt to understand holiness—a topic central both to Euthyphro’s justification of his actions and to the charge of impiety that Socrates faces before the Athenian court. “A Student Commentary on Plato’s Euthyphro is an excellent introduction to Plato’s rich dialogue. The commentary is smart, well-organized, and pitched at the right level for an undergraduate audience. With clear and effective writing, it nicely situates the dialogue in the social and political context of fifth century Athens.” —Mark McPherran, Simon Fraser University
