From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThēreutēs means hunter; a figure for courtship and for inquiry.
- In LysisSocrates asks what sort of hunter would scare away the game he was pursuing.
- Reading contextThe image connects strategic courtship with the search for a secure account.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “What sort of hunter would he seem to you?”
- English renderings
- Hunter; a figure for courtship and for inquiry
Meaning
Hunter; a figure for courtship and for inquiry.
Grammatical category: noun, masculine.
Use in the book
Socrates asks what sort of hunter would scare away the game he was pursuing. Hippothales calls such a hunter φαῦλος, poor at the task. The analogy makes him agree to a criticism of his own praise before that criticism is explicitly applied.
The associated participle θηρεύων means “while hunting.” The scene tests practical competence by whether one’s activity advances or defeats its end. The hunter is an illustrative role, and the passage does not present a literal hunting expedition.
At 218c Socrates himself is “like a hunter”, pleased to possess the answer he has been hunting. The immediate arrival of suspicion turns apparent capture into renewed pursuit. The image connects strategic courtship with the search for a secure account.