Prodicus (Prodikos)

Prodicus; Prodikos, from the island of CEOS, ca. 470-after 400 years. BC. e., Greek sophist. Perhaps, had been a pupil of Protagoras. In 431 or 421 g. BC. e. arrived with the embassy in Athens, where he received a resounding recognition. P. disciples, according to legend, was Euripides, Thucydides, Teramo and Isocrates. P. engaged synonymy, emphasizing the differences between words with similar meanings. He developed the doctrine of Protagoras on the right speech, had an impact on Antisthenes. Plato believed that the synonymy P. was a preparatory stage to the teachings of Socrates about definitions. The only piece of IP, which is known reliably, are Seasons (Horai), in which the author argued that the emergence of agriculture led to the development of human culture, he also presented the theory of the origin of religion. P. was the creator of the theory, proclaiming that people are rendering divine honors useful for them to things (a kind of fetishism), and then they are inventors (the theory, later called evfemerizmom; cm. Evfemer), he first explained the origins of religion, psychological reasons (gratitude) and identified two stages of its development. Name of the work he connected with the goddesses of the seasons, honored at the CEOS. From this work is taken the story of Hercules at the Crossroads, which finally chooses the hard path of virtue, he suggests that P. not hedonist and not recognize ethical relativism. (This story is known to us only in the treatment of Xenophon in his Memoirs of Socrates). P. acts Protagoras of Plato.