Editing Achilles (section)

=== In Greek philosophy ===

==== Zeno ====
The philosopher [[Zeno of Elea]] centred one of [[Zeno's paradoxes|his paradoxes]] on an imaginary footrace between "[[Epithets in Homer#Individuals|swift-footed]]" [[Achilles and the tortoise|Achilles and a tortoise]], by which he attempted to show that Achilles could not catch up to a tortoise with a head start, and therefore that motion and change were impossible. As a student of the monist Parmenides and a member of the Eleatic school, Zeno believed time and motion to be illusions.

==== Plato ====
In ''[[Hippias Minor]]'', a [[Socratic dialogue]] attributed to [[Plato]], an arrogant man named Hippias argues with [[Socrates]]. The two get into a discussion about lying. They decide that a person who is intentionally false must be "better" than a person who is unintentionally false, on the basis that someone who lies intentionally must understand the subject about which they are lying.<ref name="hm">{{cite web |last1=Jowett |first1=Benjamin |author2=Plato |title=Lesser Hippias |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1673/1673-h/1673-h.htm |publisher=Project Gutenberg |date=January 15, 2013}}</ref> Socrates uses various analogies, discussing athletics and the sciences to prove his point. The two also reference Homer extensively. Socrates and Hippias agree that [[Odysseus]], who concocted a number of lies throughout the ''Odyssey'' and other stories in the Trojan War Cycle, was false intentionally. Achilles, like Odysseus, told numerous falsehoods. Hippias believes that Achilles was a generally honest man, while Socrates believes that Achilles lied for his own benefit. The two argue over whether it is better to lie on purpose or by accident. Socrates eventually abandons Homeric arguments and makes sports analogies to drive home the point: someone who does wrong on purpose is a better person than someone who does wrong unintentionally.