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Protagoras of Abdera
Protagoras
also: Protagoras Abderites, Protagora, Protagoras of Abdera
The most famous of the sophists (c. 490-420 BC), 'man is the measure of all things.' Cicero (Brutus 30, 46-47) names him among the teachers of speaking and credits him with writing out disputations on famous subjects (the common topics).
Reading notes
- On the Nature of the Gods §1.63 his books were burned in the assembly
Protagoras of Abdera, the great sophist, opened a book by professing agnosticism about the gods; the Athenians banished him and burned his books publicly. The episode shows the legal risk that attached even to doubt.