From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordHeneka means for the sake of; for the purpose of; on account of.
- In LysisIn the doctor example the phrase ἕνεκα ὑγιείας gives health as the end, while διὰ νόσον identifies illness as the condition prompting attachment (218e).
- Reading contextThe position after its genitive, as in ἐπικουρίας ἕνεκα at 215d, does not change its basic function.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “for the sake of which.”
- English renderings
- For the sake of; for the purpose of; on account of
Meaning
For the sake of; for the purpose of; on account of.
Grammatical category: preposition with genitive.
Use in the book
In the doctor example the phrase ἕνεκα ὑγιείας gives health as the end, while διὰ νόσον identifies illness as the condition prompting attachment (218e). Repeated “for the sake of” relations then generate the demand for a first friend, beyond which reference to another friend no longer continues (219c–d).
The father’s care for wine and its vessel is for the sake of his son, illustrating the distinction between subordinate means and the end that matters (219d–220b2). Yet at 220e the text says that the real friend has appeared as a friend ἐχθροῦ ἕνεκα, “for the sake of an enemy”. The phrase shifts the earlier wording and should be preserved rather than harmonized away. Its local force belongs to the problem being exposed.
The position after its genitive, as in ἐπικουρίας ἕνεκα at 215d, does not change its basic function.