Il Περὶ θεῶν di Protagora. Un nuovo tentativo di ricostruzione

The present paper will deal with the main problems concerning the famous incipit of Protagoras ’Περὶ θεῶν ' (80 B 4 dK = 31 d 10 lM), where the sophist affirms that he is unable to know if the gods exist or not. First, we will consider some questions related to the constitutio textus and we will then go on to analyze the biographical tradition concerning Protagoras’ persecution, quoted from most sources of this fragment. In conclusion, we will try to read the text within the context of the preceding philosophical and literary tradition and to analyze it in the light of other Protagorean texts, in order to understand the sophist’s point of view on gods and religion.