Prodĭcus

, a sophist and rhetorician of Cos, about 396 years before Christ. He was sent as amba ador by his countrymen to Athens, where he publicly taught, and had among his pupils Euripi des, So crates, The ram enes, and I so crates. He travelled from town to town in Greece, to procure admirers and get money. He made his auditors pay to hear him harangue, which has given occasion to some of the ancients to speak of the orations of Prodicus for 50 drachmas. In his writings, which were numerous, he composed a beautiful episode, in which virtue and pleasure were introduced, as attempting to make Hercules one of their votaries. The hero at last yielded to the charms of virtue and rejected pleasure. This has been imitated by Lucian. Prodicus was at last put to death by the A then i ans on pretence that he corrupted the morals of their youth. Xenophon , Memorabilia .