Euthyphro

The philosopher Socrates and a man named Euthyphro meet at the court of a magistrate in charge of religious law. They discover that they both have cases to plead there. Socrates explains that he has been accused by a young man named Meletus of corrupting the youth of Athens by questioning the traditional beliefs about the gods and introducing new gods. Euthyphro says that he, too, has received similar accusations before, and that the thing to do is “meet them head-on” (10). Socrates responds that his situation is more serious, since unlike Euthyphro he teaches his beliefs to others and thus attracts greater censure. Euthyphro optimistically predicts that Socrates’s plea will be successful.

Euthyphro explains that he has arrived at the court to press charges against his father for killing a hired worker who had gotten drunk and slit the throat of a slave. Euthyphro’s father left the worker bound in a ditch while waiting to see what should be done, and the worker died of hunger and exposure. Euthyphro’s relatives are angry with him for prosecuting his own father on behalf of a murderer, thus committing an act of impiety toward his father. Euthyphro considers this a serious misunderstanding of the nature and requirements of piety.