From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordProgonos means ancestor; a forebear.
- In LysisHippothales celebrates Lysis’ ancestors, their wealth, and their athletic victories.
- Reading contextThe word locates the claimed distinction in family descent; the later questioning turns toward the boy’s own understanding.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “their ancestor.”
- English renderings
- Ancestor; a forebear
Meaning
Ancestor; a forebear.
Grammatical category: masculine noun.
Use in the book
Hippothales celebrates Lysis’ ancestors, their wealth, and their athletic victories. A particular ancestor is said to have received Heracles because both were sons of Zeus (205c–d2). Ctesippus presents this as familiar inherited praise, rather than anything distinctive Hippothales has noticed about Lysis himself. The word locates the claimed distinction in family descent; the later questioning turns toward the boy’s own understanding.