From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordOreokomos means muleteer; the person who tends and manages the mules.
- In LysisLysis says that the ὀρεοκόμος may strike the mules although he himself may not.
- Reading contextIt makes the trust argument sharper: even someone of lower legal status receives task-specific authority withheld from the owner’s son.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “to the muleteer.”
- English renderings
- Muleteer; the person who tends and manages the mules
Meaning
Muleteer; the person who tends and manages the mules.
Grammatical category: noun, masculine.
Use in the book
Lysis says that the ὀρεοκόμος may strike the mules although he himself may not. Socrates immediately asks whether this worker is slave or free, and Lysis answers that he is a slave. The noun names a practical role distinct from the paid charioteer. It makes the trust argument sharper: even someone of lower legal status receives task-specific authority withheld from the owner’s son.
Places to read
- 208bτῷ ὀρεοκόμῳ — to the muleteer.