Stephanus pagination

Stephanus pagination is the system of reference and organisation used in the works of Plato. A text, usually Socratic Dialogues, will be divided into numbers - each number covering a few paragraphs. Each number will be divided into equal sections a, b, c, d and e. As such, this system is often used to reference Plato - for example, 172a would refer the reader to the opening of The Symposium.

This system of so-called pagination was formulated in 1578 by Henricus Stephanus (Henri Estienne) and was used in his print edition of Plato's works.