Kefedokhles

First appearance and context

Kefedokhles is introduced through a cited definition from an in‑world Dictionary that outlines both his life and the later use of his name. The term is immediately echoed in casual speech when an avout quips that a teacher has “gone Kefedokhles,” invoking the figure’s reputation for overlong interventions in debate.

Role and function

According to the Dictionary, Kefedokhles was a fid from the Halls of Orithena who survived the eruption of Ecba and became one of the Forty Lesser Peregrins. In old age he is said to have appeared on the Periklyne, though some scholars believe this was a son or namesake. He features as a minor character in several of the great dialogs, most notably Uraloabus, where a timely and long‑winded interruption helps Thelenes regain his footing and redirect the exchange, leading into the extended dismantling of Sphenic thought that concludes the work. From the Peregrin phase of his life three dialogs survive, and from his Periklyne years eight.

Relationships and references

• Affiliations and locales: beginnings at the Halls of Orithena; later counted among the Forty Lesser Peregrins; possible later presence on the Periklyne (contested).
• Literary connections: appears in multiple dialogs; most notably intersects with Thelenes in Uraloabus; associated by reputation with exhaustive, pedantic rhetorical maneuvers.
• Eponym: the name “Kefedokhles” has entered common usage to describe an insufferably smug or pedantic interlocutor.

Current status

Kefedokhles is a historical figure known through the surviving dialogs and reference works. Specific biographical details after the Peregrin era are uncertain, with scholarly dispute over whether later mentions refer to the same person or a namesake.