From the book
Charmides
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordTaureou is the genitive of Taureas: the palaestra is identified as “Taureas'.”
- In the CharmidesSocrates locates the conversation in Taureas' wrestling-school opposite Basile's shrine.
- In this editionThe English expands the possessive into “the wrestling-school of Taureas.”
- A place to readThe named palaestra is located opposite Basile’s shrine.
Meaning
Taureou is the genitive of Taureas: the palaestra is identified as “Taureas'.” The name gives a local establishment an intelligible designation, rather than introducing an additional participant.
Use in the book
Socrates locates the conversation in Taureas' wrestling-school opposite Basile's shrine. The naming has the precision of a familiar rendezvous: he is returning to his customary haunts after an absence. Taureas neither speaks nor is explicitly said to be present. The possessive designation does not, by itself, establish his exact occupation, property arrangements, or a biographical connection with the principal speakers.
Keeping this modest limit matters. The environment is philosophically significant because bodies are trained and displayed there, older men and youths gather there, and the athletic equipment later used as examples belongs naturally to it. Those implications arise from the palaestra and its occupants, not from a recoverable career of Taureas.
Places to read
- 153aThe named palaestra is located opposite Basile’s shrine
Translation in this edition
The English expands the possessive into “the wrestling-school of Taureas.” The Greek has his name only in the genitive in this passage.