One seeks in vain explicit developments concerning silence in Plato’s works. But his literary genius does give silence some room, and the mise en scène of dialogues and the interactions between characters include different figures of silence. Through these figures, other aspects of Socrates and Plato’s reflections on language emerge. The philosopher’s silence runs counter the silence of his intelocutors, just as the philosophical practice of dialogue confronts sophistic discourses. True silence, i.e. the philosopher’s silence, is not the absence of voice, nor is it simply the expectation of a coming word. Rather, it is, ultimately, a return to the very source of logos: thought and being itself.