The author’s main objective is to show that it is possible to interpret the ‘Σωκρατικοι λογοι’ not only as literary representations of Socrates’ figure, but also as the resources for reconstruction of the Socratic philosophical conception of leading an examined life. Aristotle considers as ‘Σωκρατικοι λογοι’ only literary texts imitating Socrates explicitly and defines this genre’s distinctive features, but the author of this paper supposes that despite the absence of Socrates’ direct representation in the works of other Socratics (mostly those of Aristophanes, Xenophon and Plato), their texts are marked by Socrates’ influence too. The author of this paper also argues that it is not precisely this literary form of Socratic dialogue as such what makes Plato share the common Socratic heritage with the other Socratics. It is rather the conception of examining one’s true ethical character (ἦθος) which we find in his early dialogue Laches.