Abstract: The prologue of the Phaedrus intertwines three distinct discussions: the proper way to

exercise the body, the right method for reciting Lysias’ speech, and the just relationship to

myths. These discussions are closely mirrored by the physical journey of the two characters,

who walk from the center of Athens to a beautiful countryside setting outside the city walls. I

will argue that Plato unifies these three thematic strands through the central notion of

exercise—μελέτη.

On one hand, the medical theories of Acumenus and Herodicus, and on the other, the rhetoric

of Lysias, both prescribe forms of exercise that Plato ultimately rejects. The long walks

championed by the former and the repetitive recitations demanded by the latter entirely

consume their practitioners’ time. Consequently, this prevents them from dedicating

themselves to truly essential pursuits, such as the self-knowledge demanded by the Delphic

maxim.

Plato illustrates the rejection of these exercises by having Phaedrus adopt the technical jargon

of physicians and rhetoricians, which Socrates then subtly mocks in his responses.

Furthermore, the physical postures of the characters—first walking through the countryside,

then lying down in the grass—echo this double condemnation of the unsound sophistication

found in both Herodicus’ medicine and Lysias’ rhetoric. Ultimately, these two flawed

practices serve as the negative counterparts to the genuine Hippocratic medicine and Periclean

rhetoric praised at the end of the dialogue.