Euthyphro (prophet)

Euthyphro of Prospalta (Greek: Εὑθύφρων Προσπάλτιος, Euthύphron Prospáltios, 5th century – 4th century BCE) was an ancient Athenian religious prophet (mantesin) best known for his role in his eponymous dialogue written by the philosopher Plato. The debate between Euthyphro and Socrates herein has influenced generations of theologians and given rise to the question of the relationship between God and morality known as the Euthyphro dilemma.

Euthyphro's biography can only be reconstructed through the details revealed by Plato in the Euthyphro and Cratylus, as no further contemporaneous sources exist.^[1] While the dramatic date of the former may be definitively set at 399 BCE,^[1] the latter is uncertain, argued alternately as 422^[1] and 399;^[2] this makes gauging Euthyphro's period of activity difficult, but the former dating paradigm suggests that he may have been a long-lived figure in Athens. Euthyphro had evidently farmed on Naxos,^[3] probably as part of the cleruchy established by Pericles in 447.^[1] If in fact historical, the trial against his father depicted in the Euthyphro may have began as early as 404.^[4]

Euthyphro's status as a "mantic" seer is supported by both texts, although Socrates seems to treat this faculty with ironic disdain.^[1] Both dialogues attest to Euthyphro's particular interest in father-gods such as Ouranos, Cronos and Zeus,^[1][5][6] and Socrates accredits Euthphyro with igniting deep inspiration the etymological exercise he enacts in the Cratylus.

While little remains of Euthyphro's life, his depiction in Plato sparked interest in many generations of scholars and commentators. Diogenes Laërtius depicts him as being swayed away from prosecution following the aporia demonstrated in his eponymous dialogue. Inspired by this aporia, the Euthyphro dilemma arose within antiquity and was revived by Ralph Cudworth and Samuel Clarke in the 17th and 18th centuries,^[7] remaining relevant in theological and philosophical discussions for centuries thereafter.

• List of speakers in Plato's dialogues