From the book
Alcibiades I
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordPericles’ continuing companion in the pursuit of wisdom, according to Alcibiades.
- In Alcibiades IDamon’s name differs from the earlier names in the list because the association is explicitly present: even now, at his age, Pericles keeps company with him for this purpose.
- In this editionThe supplied note calls Damon a theorist of music.
- A place to readThe present-tense association completes Alcibiades’ defence.
Meaning
Pericles’ continuing companion in the pursuit of wisdom, according to Alcibiades.
Use in the book
Damon’s name differs from the earlier names in the list because the association is explicitly present: even now, at his age, Pericles keeps company with him for this purpose. The detail depicts education as something a mature statesman may continue rather than a childhood stage he has simply completed. It also contributes to the dramatic chronology by treating Pericles as alive and active. Socrates’ response again asks for evidence of education transmitted to another person; he does not discuss Damon’s own ideas or deny the reported association.
Places to read
- 118cThe present-tense association completes Alcibiades’ defence.
Translation in this edition
The supplied note calls Damon a theorist of music. His field is not specified in the spoken passage, and no musical doctrine should be ascribed to him here.
Δάμων
Attested: Δάμωνι (damōni; 118c). Damon, with whom Pericles is said still to associate for wisdom. Lexical identification: lemma: Δάμων. See Damon.
Source note
The supplied edition, note 30 on 118c, identifies Damon as a music theorist by reference to Plutarch, Pericles 4–6.