The four people
in Gorgias present different characters that contrast
with each other.
Socrates is the all-knowing and knowledgeable
person who is slightly proud of his learning and
his ability to defeat others in a direct argument.
On the contrary he is also kind and patient and
has a mature ego that does not get hurt when criticized
or even mildly abused by lesser people. He has
an urge to learn and considers his knowledge as
impermanent and subject to change if challenged
by a sufficiently learned person. In short we
see a character that is knowledgeable, playful,
willing to learn and not haughty even though he
is well learned and well- read.
Only to think, my friend, that having come on
a visit to
Athens, which is the most free-spoken state in
Hellas, you when you
got there, and you alone, should be deprived of
the power of
speech-that would be hard indeed [Socrates; Plato,
380 BC]
Gorgias is a character who takes great pride
in his ability as a rhetorician. He does not have
the knowledge of any other more well-known sciences
or art, but is content to call himself as a master
of rhetoric who can alter the opinion of people
to drastic levels. We see that he is not able
to defend himself against the wise questions of
Socrates and his prominence drops off early in
the debate. Socrates proves that his art is mere
flattery and that he may not be an asset to the
society and will not add value to the content
of the Athenian society.
"Because, Socrates, the knowledge of the
other arts has only
To do with some sort of external action, as of
the hand; but there
Is no such action of the hand in rhetoric which
works and takes effect
Only through the medium of discourse. And therefore
I am justified
in saying that rhetoric treats of discourse"
[Gorgias; Plato, 380 BC]
Polus is a hot tempered but modest admirer of
Gorgias who tries to defend Gorgias against Socrates.
He fights valiantly against the arguments put
forward by Socrates by is soon overcome by the
arguments of Socrates and fails to impress as
a worthy opponent of Socrates. Socrates adds salt
to injury by calling both Gorgias and Polus as
modest men; an indirect way to call them as cowards
who cannot carry forward an argument to support
their views and convictions. Socrates makes fun
of their meek surrender and chides them at the
easy defeat that they suffer at his hands.
What! do you mean that I may not use as many
words as I please? [Polus; Plato 380 BC]
Callicles is a hot-headed, just and brave person
who is true to his convictions. Although he is
no match for the philosophic reasoning of Socrates,
he is able to hold his own and counters the arguments
of Socrates in his own style that is at times
impetuous, and at times argumentative. Callicles
becomes angry with Socrates at times, and accuses
him of playing with words just to satisfy his
points. Even Socrates finds it difficult to trap
Callicles in his words so that he may be trapped
due to his weaknesses in philosophical arguments.
Callicles minces no words in criticizing Socrates
for the seemingly liberal approach of Socrates
and chides him for not being practical. He believes
that Socrates is too philosophical that he is
not able to attend to his practical needs in life.
Callicles is an admirer of the passionate pursuits
in life and believes that life must be enjoyed
to the fullest and philosophical aspects in life
must be kept to minimum and bearable levels. He
is royal, haughty and very bold and does not mind
speaking his mind even to men of repute.
O Socrates, you are a regular declaimer, and
seem to be running
riot in the argument. And now you are declaiming
in this way because
Polus has fallen into the same error himself of
which he accused [Callicles; Plato, 380 BC]
Some similarities to men of similar nature
Mahatma Gandhi and Socrates
Although Socrates does not have an equal in terms
of knowledge and argumentative power, Mahatma
Gandhi comes close in comparison when we consider
the fact that he had a great capacity to influence
enemies and admirers alike. He like Socrates had
a clear vision about his ideals and was never
an ego-centric person. He had the charisma to
move a nation from bondage to freedom through
peaceful means.
Osama Bin Laden and Gorgias
Osama bin Laden like Gorgias is very radical in
his thoughts and resorts to rhetoric. He has an
outer crust of a very amiable person. In fact,
the famous smile of Osama hides the hardcore terrorist
that lies underneath. Like Gorgias, Osama does
not know much of popular politics but he with
the sheer power of religious rhetoric was able
to maintain unquestioned domination over Afghanistan
for quite some time.
Polus and Tony Blair
Tony Blair is a character that is similar to Polus.
He is timid and goes with the flow. The sheer
dependence on America that he displayed during
the Gulf war was a very negative aspect of his
capacity as a leader. However, the fact that he
listens to wise counsel and has the bravery to
accept his mistakes is a trait that makes him
similar to Polus.
Callicles and Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein like Callicles is a true fighter:
dogmatic, pugnacious and very adamant in his outlook
to life. Even though he is in jail, the US show
of power has not been able to attenuate the defiance
in him and he is still very popular in Iraq. The
fact that he could rule for decades over an area
that the coalition forces are finding it very
hard to manage for a few months speaks of the
personal power, charisma and doggedness of this
man. Although his knowledge and diplomacy is limited,
he like Callicles knows his job well.
|