From the book
Alcibiades I
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordThe two sons of Pericles; the Greek dual marks two sons, although their personal names are not spoken here.
- In Alcibiades ISocrates begins the test of Pericles’ educational success with those closest to him.
- In this editionThe note identifies them as Xanthippus and Paralus using other dialogues.
- A place to readThe sons are the first candidates in Socrates’ test.
Meaning
The two sons of Pericles; the Greek dual marks two sons, although their personal names are not spoken here.
Use in the book
Socrates begins the test of Pericles’ educational success with those closest to him. Alcibiades responds that the two sons turned out simpletons, an objection that shifts blame from teacher to pupils. Socrates accepts the description for the moment and widens the search to Cleinias, then to Alcibiades, and finally to anyone at all. The sons’ role is consequently methodological: they are the first proposed evidence in a test of whether reputed wisdom can make another wise. Their alleged limitations are voiced by Alcibiades and should not be converted into the lexicon’s unqualified judgement about historical persons.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
The note identifies them as Xanthippus and Paralus using other dialogues. These names are editorial background, not attested spoken forms in Alcibiades I. Xanthippus the son must not be confused with Pericles’ father named at 104b.
υἱός / ὑός
Attested: τὼ Περικλέους ὑεῖ (tō perikleous hyei; 118e). Son; the dual phrase identifies Pericles’ two sons, whose personal names are not supplied in the dialogue. Lexical identification: family label: υἱός / ὑός. See Pericles’ sons.
Source note
The names Xanthippus and Paralus are supplied in the edition’s note 31 on 118e, with comparisons to Meno 94b and Protagoras 319e–320a. They are not spoken in Alcibiades I.