... State, Socrates was never a popular figure due to his annoying habit of stopping people in the street to question them in detail about philosophy in a style similar to that depicted in Plato's dialogues. Socrates himself never wrote a word; however, the philosophy of the historical Socrates seems to have been centred on a search for a definition, particularly in ethical terms, as it was ethics and to some extent language that chiefly occupied the historical Socrates. This tendency to explore philosophy in search of a definition is certainly one that is reflected in Plato's early dialogues such as Gorgias or Protagoras. As we have no documented evidence from Socrates himself, when we read the words of Plato's character of Socrates, are we reading words said by the historical figure or merely those put into the character's mouth by Plato? Apart from what we can gather from Plato's dialogues, ...

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