Phaedrus praises the speech Socrates has just givenand suggests that Lysias is no match for him as an orator. Phaedrus mentions that an Athenian politician had recently criticized Lysias for being a speechwriter rather than a good speaker. Phaedrus and Socrates then consider the difference between good and bad writing; when Phaedrus wonders whether this is a worthwhile subject, Socrates, hearing the noise of cicadas around them, begins to tell another myth to illustrate his point.

Socrates states that before the Muses came into the world and invented song, cicadas were human beings. When the Muses invented music, these men were so taken with its beauty that they forgot to eat and drink. They would have died, but the Muses freed them from the need for food and drink, declaring that they should spend their entire lives singing. The cicadas tell the Muses how men on earth spend their time: those that spend their days engaged in the discussion of philosophy earn the greatest reward. When Socrates completes this tale, Phaedrus is convinced that they should continue their discussion.