Honour, fame and worth

Use in the book

Socrates says Alcibiades hopes to prove himself worthy of unparalleled honours and thereby become supremely powerful. The vocabulary then describes Socrates’ corresponding claim to be worth everything to Alcibiades. This initial parallel makes value to an audience a live question: what would actually justify either claim?

The contest passage intensifies the language of worth. Alcibiades’ proposal to dispense with training is unworthy of his advantages; his choice of rivals is something he has thought fit; Socrates ironically calls it worthy of him to settle for beating ordinary soldiers. A fine deed must be worthy both of himself and the city. Honour thus becomes a lever for education rather than merely the reward he seeks.

The Persian attendants receive great honour for shaping the young prince, and love of honour belongs to the Spartan catalogue. These uses prevent a simplistic equation of all honour-seeking with vice. The problem is whether recognition follows preparation and service or substitutes for them. At 124b–c2 fame among Greeks and barbarians is explicitly something Alcibiades passionately desires, and Socrates promises distinction through his guidance. The ensuing inquiry tests what must precede it, while the ending withholds an achieved public success.

Places to read

1. 105b–105e2Unparalleled honour and being worth everything connect the two ambitions.
2. 119c–119eA chain of worth-terms makes the rebuke ironic and cumulative.
3. 121d–121eRoyal attendants are honoured for their care.
4. 122cLove of honour is among Spartan strengths.
5. 124b–124c2Fame and distinction are made dependent on care and guidance.

Translation in this edition

The English keeps repeated “worthy” language where possible; replacing each with a different synonym would conceal the irony. “Distinction” renders epiphaneia here and does not imply a divine apparition.

ἀνάξιος

Attested: ἀνάξιον (anaxion; 119c). Unworthy, the rebuke to Alcibiades’ refusal of training. Lexical identification: lemma: ἀνάξιος. See Honour, fame and worth.

ἄξιος

Attested: ἄξιος (axios; 105b). Worthy or deserving, initially of honour and later of appropriate achievement. Lexical identification: lemma: ἄξιος. See Honour, fame and worth.

ἀξιόω

Attested: ἠξίωσας (ēxiōsas; 119c). To deem worthy or think fit, here in selecting the local men as rivals. Lexical identification: lemma: ἀξιόω. See Honour, fame and worth.

ἐπιφάνεια

Attested: ἐπιφάνεια (epiphaneia; 124c). Prominence or distinction; Socrates says Alcibiades' rise to conspicuous public standing will occur through his help. Lexical identification: lemma: ἐπιφάνεια. See Honour, fame and worth.

ὀνομαστός

Attested: ὀνομαστὸς (onomastos; 124b). Renowned or famous by name; the promised fame among Greeks and barbarians depends on the education Alcibiades would otherwise neglect. Lexical identification: lemma: ὀνομαστός. See Honour, fame and worth.

τιμάω

Attested: τιμᾶσθαι (timasthai; 105b). To honour; Alcibiades expects to deserve unprecedented honours. Lexical identification: lemma: τιμάω. See Honour, fame and worth.

τιμή

Attested: τιμῇ (timēi; 121e). Honour, here awarded to attendants for their care of the royal child. Lexical identification: lemma: τιμή. See Honour, fame and worth.

φιλοτιμία

Attested: φιλοτιμίας (philotimias; 122c). Love of honour or honour-seeking ambitions, included among Spartan strengths. Lexical identification: lemma: φιλοτιμία. See Honour, fame and worth; Spartan disciplines.

Use in the book

The passage repeats dishonour across the two rival accounts of Hipparchus’ death. The familiar account concerns a sister’s exclusion from basket-bearing. Socrates dismisses that explanation and supplies a supposedly more cultivated one: Harmodius and Aristogeiton are dishonoured when a young admirer comes to despise them. The object of injury changes from ceremonial standing to reputation for wisdom, but the emotional structure survives.

Aristogeiton’s pride supplies the competitive frame. He has educated Harmodius and regards Hipparchus as his opponent. The narrative does not first announce a formally organised contest with agreed rules. “Opponent” shows how Aristogeiton understands the relationship. Nor does Socrates demonstrate that Hipparchus consciously competed for this particular young man; the younger man’s association with him becomes the occasion of the others’ loss of esteem.

This makes the word “dishonour” more than a decorative moral label. It connects a private feeling with publicly intelligible ranking. The men are hurt not only because someone changes a belief but because that change lowers their standing as wise. The final violence is attributed to their intense reaction to that humiliation. Nothing in the narrative makes the reaction justified simply because an injury is felt.

The recurring concern with recognition also bears on Hipparchus’ programme. His sayings are meant to be ranked above Delphi’s, and his name is repeated in the memorial formula. The praised teacher and his condemned rivals inhabit an economy of esteem, even though their actions differ radically. In the surrounding conversation, the companion’s resistance can likewise be examined as either wounded self-regard or a legitimate demand for better reasoning. The text gives no warrant for dismissing every objection as vanity merely because the cultural story condemns a destructive rivalry.

Places to read

1. 229cἀτιμίαν τῆς κανηφορίας — The first account centres on dishonour over basket-bearing.
2. 229cμέγα δ’ ἐφρόνει — Aristogeiton’s pride is explicitly stated.
3. 229cἀνταγωνιστὴν ἡγεῖτο — The opponent relation is framed as his judgment.
4. 229dταύτῃ τῇ ἀτιμίᾳ — The repeated noun now concerns being despised as educators.

Translation in this edition

The edition deliberately uses “dishonour” in both places so that the recurrence can be heard. “Prided himself” keeps the idiom distinct from ordinary thinking, while “opponent” retains the competitive structure. The title’s “honour” names the positive standing whose loss is at issue; no independent occurrence of the noun τιμή is being claimed.