SOCRATES
(Lysippos (attributed). Portrait of Socrates. Marble; 33.5 cm high. 1st century AD. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Socrates_Louvre.jpg.)
Why would a city put a man to death for asking questions?
c. 470–399 B.C. · Athens
Socrates is often considered the first great philosopher of the ancient world. In his lifetime, Athens went from international supremacy to utter defeat in the Peloponnesian War, and his constant questioning of the established order made him powerful enemies.
From supremacy to defeat to a trial
- Born: Around 470 B.C., in Athens
- Soldier: Served as a hoplite in the land campaigns against Sparta
- Family: Married, and had three sons
- Charges: In 399 B.C., corrupting the youth of Athens and violating the city’s religious practices
- Death: Condemned to death; offered the chance to flee, he chose to stay and accept the sentence
- Writings: None; his student Plato recorded his death in the Phaedo
What happens when one person keeps asking “why?”
Hover or tap each idea to follow Socrates’ path
- The Pursuit of TruthAfter his military service, Socrates entered a long period of philosophical inquiry: a persistent, and for some annoying, pursuit of the truths of human nature and politics.
- Reasoned QuestionsHe relentlessly applied closely reasoned questions to the moral and political dogmas of his day.
- A City Sensitive to CriticismMilitary defeat had made Athenians highly sensitive to criticism. Socrates’ constant questioning of the established order brought him into disfavor with some of the most powerful people in the city.
- Trial and DeathIn 399 B.C. he was charged with corrupting the youth and violating the city’s religious practices, and condemned to death. Given the chance to flee, he chose to accept the sentence instead. Plato’s Phaedo records his final hours.
- The Socratic DialogueSocrates never wrote, but the Socratic dialogue, carried forward by his many students, became an essential part of the Western philosophical tradition.
Although Socrates never wrote, the Socratic dialogue, carried forward by his many students, is an essential part of the Western philosophical tradition.
His relentless habit of testing moral and political dogmas with closely reasoned questions shaped all later philosophy. Through his student Plato, his voice, and his death, have never left it.
Where to read more about Socrates and his trial.
- 1990Conversations of SocratesXenophon, trans. Hugh Tredennick and Robin Waterfield · Penguin Classics
- 1991Socrates: Ironist and Moral PhilosopherVlastos, Gregory · Cambridge University Press
- 1994MemorabiliaXenophon, trans. Amy L. Bonnette · Cornell University Press
- 1997Complete WorksPlato, ed. John M. Cooper · Hackett Publishing
- 1998The Art of Living: Socratic Reflections from Plato to FoucaultNehamas, Alexander · University of California Press
- 1998Clouds (Loeb Classical Library, Aristophanes vol. II)Aristophanes, trans. Jeffrey Henderson · Harvard University Press
- 2000Socratic Wisdom: The Model of Knowledge in Plato’s Early DialoguesBenson, Hugh H. · Oxford University Press
- 2002Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, PhaedoPlato, trans. G. M. A. Grube, rev. John M. Cooper · Hackett Publishing
- 2004Knowledge, Nature, and the Good: Essays on Ancient PhilosophyCooper, John M. · Princeton University Press
- 2011The Cambridge Companion to SocratesMorrison, Donald R., ed. · Cambridge University Press
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: SocratesA scholarly entry by Debra Nails and S. Sara Monoson.plato.stanford.edu
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: SocratesA detailed entry by James M. Ambury.iep.utm.edu
- Britannica: SocratesA biography and overview of his life, trial and influence.britannica.com
(Lysippos (attributed). Portrait of Socrates. Marble; 33.5 cm high. 1st century AD. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Socrates_Louvre.jpg.)
A marble portrait bust of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, likely a Roman copy from the 1st century AD of a lost bronze statue attributed to Lysippos, now housed in the Louvre Museum.
(Unknown. Socrates. Illustration. 1910. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SOCRATES.png.)
A black-and-white depiction of Socrates based on a classical bust, clipped from the frontispiece of a 1910 edition of the Harvard Classics, emphasizing his thoughtful profile and beard.
(Unknown. Bust of Socrates. Marble. ca. mid-2nd century AD. Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican Museums. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Socrates_Pio-Clementino_Inv314.jpg.)
A marble bust of Socrates, a Roman copy from the mid-2nd century AD after a Greek original from the 4th century BC, discovered at the Quintili Villa on the Via Appia, capturing his iconic features.