From the book
Charmides
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordThe ethnic adjective Thrāix, “Thracian,” appears as both a plural identifying the doctors and a singular naming Socrates' claimed teacher.
- In the CharmidesThe unnamed Thracian connects the opening military return with the therapeutic story.
- In this editionThe edition's Θρᾲξ at 156d6 preserves Burnet's unusual accent rather than silently correcting it to the expected Θρᾷξ.
- A place to readThe claimed campaign teacher delivers the healing doctrine and binds Socrates to its conditions.
Meaning
The ethnic adjective Thrāix, “Thracian,” appears as both a plural identifying the doctors and a singular naming Socrates' claimed teacher. Thrace itself is not separately mapped in the conversation. The supplied text unusually prints the singular with a grave accent at 156d6, as Burnet does.
Use in the book
The unnamed Thracian connects the opening military return with the therapeutic story. Socrates says that he met him on campaign. The man first agrees with good Greek medical practice and then corrects what it leaves out: the soul must be treated, not merely the body. The contrast is therefore not a blanket rejection of Greek medicine in favor of foreign magic. The reported teacher appropriates one Greek principle, treating a part through the whole, and extends its scope.
He also sets conditions of transmission. Socrates is to give no remedy to someone who refuses the prior charm, however rich, wellborn, or beautiful the person may be. Socrates' oath turns the foreigner's instruction into a limit on the admired youth's power to obtain special treatment. At 175e it is the charm learned from this Thracian that Socrates remembers with concern, after the definition attached to it has appeared useless.
The man remains unnamed, and his existence is not independently verified within the scene. “The Thracian says” must not become “the historical Thracian medical profession believed.” The story's philosophical and dramatic coherence can be studied without deciding that question.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
The edition's Θρᾲξ at 156d6 preserves Burnet's unusual accent rather than silently correcting it to the expected Θρᾷξ. This orthographic caution does not alter the ethnic identification.
Ἕλλην
Attested: Ἕλληνες (hellēnes). Greeks, contrasted with the Thracian source of the expanded healing account. References: 156d. Lexical identification: lemma: Ἕλλην. See Thracians.
ἐντολή
Attested: ἐντολὰς (entolas). Instructions or injunctions of the foreign teacher, requiring the soul to be treated first. References: 157c. Lexical identification: lemma: ἐντολή. See Thracians.
Θρᾷξ
Attested: Θρᾳκῶν / Θρᾲξ / Θρᾳκὸς (thraikōn / thraix / thraikos). Thracian; the plural identifies the doctors associated with Zalmoxis, while the singular names Socrates’ unnamed teacher, whose charm he recalls at the end. References: 156d, 175e. Lexical identification: lemma: Θρᾷξ. See Thracians.
ξένος
Attested: ξένου (xenou). The stranger or foreign visitor; Socrates refers back to the unnamed Thracian doctor whose instructions require treating the soul before the head. References: 157c. Lexical identification: lemma: ξένος. See Thracians.
ξένου (xenou)
The foreigner or stranger, namely the Thracian teacher; no claim that he is a technical guest-friend is required. References: 157c. Lemma: ξένος. See Thracians.