Protagoras biography

Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (c.490–c.420 BC)

For other uses, see Protagoras (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Pythagoras.

Protagoras (proh-TAG-ər-əs, -⁠ass; Greek: Πρωταγόρας; c. 490 BC – c. 420 BC)^[1] was a pre-SocraticGreekphilosopher and rhetorical theorist.

He is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue Protagoras, Plato credits him with inventing the role of the professional sophist.

Protagoras is also believed to have created a major controversy during ancient times through his statement that "Of all things the measure is Man, of the things that are, that they are, and of the things that are not, that they are not" which was usually rendered simply as "Man is the measure of all things," interpreted (possibly wrongly, since he disagreed) by Plato to mean that there is no objective truth; Protagoras seems to have meant that each person's own personal history, experiences and expectations, devel