Echecrates of Phlius was a Pythagorean philosopher who lived in the late 5th century BCE, during the Classical period of ancient Greece. He is known to us today almost entirely through his appearance as a character in Plato’s dialogue Phaedo. In that work, Echecrates meets Phaedo of Elis and asks him to recount the final conversation and death of Socrates, providing the narrative frame for the entire dialogue. Plato portrays him as being familiar with the Pythagorean thinker Philolaus, which confirms his connection to Pythagorean intellectual circles.

No writings by Echecrates himself have survived, and no other biographical details about his life are recorded. His historical importance stems from his literary role. According to modern scholars, by making Echecrates a Pythagorean who is eager to hear an account of Socrates’s last day, Plato creates a bridge between Socratic philosophy and contemporary Pythagorean thought. Echecrates represents an informed, sympathetic audience for the dialogue’s complex arguments about the soul’s immortality. Later ancient sources, such as Diogenes Laertius, also cite him as an example of a Pythagorean philosopher, confirming the presence of this school in the Peloponnese during his time. Ultimately, Echecrates is a figure whose significance lies not in his own teachings, but in how Plato used him to structure and enrich one of philosophy’s most famous dialogues.