Socrates comes across an unnamed companion who asks him where he has been, and Socrates tells him that he just came from a long conversation with Protagoras, the acclaimed sophist from Abdera. Socrates’s companion, excited by this news, asks him to recount the discussion. Socrates happily obliges. The remainder of the dialogue consists of Socrates’s story, and the action never returns to his conversation with this unnamed companion.

Socrates begins his tale well before daybreak that morning when his young friend, Hippocrates, comes to his house. Hippocrates excitedly tells Socrates that Protagoras, the most esteemed of the sophists, is in Athens. Socrates already knew Protagoras was in town, but he didn’t visit him. Hippocrates, who says “everybody praises the man,” and they “claim he’s the wisest at speaking” (43), urges Socrates to go with him to Callias’s home, where Protagoras is lodging.

At this point, the narrative focus begins to shift to philosophy. Socrates questions Hippocrates about why he is so eager to learn from Protagoras. Hippocrates believes that Protagoras is a master of wisdom, but Socrates tries to convince him that he does not know anything about Protagoras or the supposed knowledge that he is selling.