Socrates

The Athenians, with the exception of Plato, thought of Socrates as a Sophist, a designation he seems to have bitterly resented. He was, however, very similar in thought to the Sophists. Like the Sophists, he was unconcerned with physical or metaphysical questions; the issue of primary importance was ethics, living a good life. He appeared to be a sophist because he seems to tear down every ethical position he's confronted with; he never offers alternatives after he's torn down other people's ideas. So Socrates was in some ways a sophist however there were some differences as discussed in the next question. .
             2B. There are also big differences between the Socrates and the Sophists: Socrates doesn't claim to be a teacher of arete. in fact, he claims not to know what it is. In general, he doesn't consider himself a teacher of anything. Although he does tend to attract "students", he never accepts pay. Perhaps the biggest difference between the Sophists and Socrates is in their attitudes towards argument, debate, and conversation: The Sophists think of argumentation as a battle, the goal of which is to "defeat" your opponent by convincing them that you are right and they are wrong. This is consistent with their skepticism and relativism; if there is no objective truth for us to have knowledge of, what else can the goal of argument be than simply to "win"? In other words, they weren't concerned with genuine inquiry -- they were only concerned with winning arguments. Socrates, on the other hand, is very much concerned with inquiry. Socrates does not accept relativism. He is concerned with truth: he employs the arts of argument and communication, not to win victory over his interlocutors, but to try get at true answers to definite questions. Socrates was not a skeptic, either. He frequently claimed not to know anything about the subjects of his conversations (piety, virtue, beauty, courage, etc.