Socrates

Socrates
Copy of Lysippos (?) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · source
Name	Socrates
Caption	Roman marble head, 1st century AD, after a Greek original (Louvre)
Birth date	c. 470 BC
Birth place	Alopece, Athens
Death date	399 BC (aged approx. 71)
Death place	Athens
Death cause	Execution by hemlock poisoning
Spouse	Xanthippe
Children	Lamprocles, Menexenus, Sophroniscus
Era	Ancient Greek philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School tradition	Classical Greek philosophy
Main interests	Epistemology, ethics
Notable ideas	Socratic method, Socratic irony, Socratic problem
Influences	Anaxagoras, Parmenides, Protagoras
Influenced	Plato, Xenophon, Antisthenes, Aristippus, Aristotle, Hellenistic philosophy

Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as a founder of Western philosophy. Through the accounts of his students, chiefly Plato and Xenophon, he is renowned for his contributions to the field of ethics and for his development of the Socratic method of critical questioning. His trial and execution by the Athenian democracy on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth became a defining moment in the intellectual history of the ancient world.

Life and background

Socrates was born around 470 BC in the deme of Alopece in Athens. His father, Sophroniscus, was a stonemason or sculptor, and his mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife. He served with distinction as a hoplite in the Peloponnesian War, demonstrating notable courage at the Battle of Potidaea, the Battle of Delium, and the Battle of Amphipolis. He lived through the Periclean Golden Age, the subsequent Plague of Athens, and the tumultuous rule of the Thirty Tyrants. He was married to Xanthippe and had three sons, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. Socrates largely avoided direct involvement in Athenian politics, though he served briefly on the Boule and defied an order from the Thirty Tyrants to arrest an innocent man.

Philosophy and teachings

Socrates did not write philosophical texts; his ideas and conversational style are preserved in the Socratic dialogues written by his followers, primarily Plato. His philosophical inquiry focused on ethics and epistemology, seeking universal definitions of virtues like justice, courage, and piety. He employed the elenchus (the Socratic method), a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue that exposed contradictions in his interlocutors' beliefs, famously claiming that "the unexamined life is not worth living." He is associated with the Oracle of Delphi's declaration that no man was wiser than he, which he interpreted as an awareness of his own ignorance. His thought influenced the development of several Hellenistic schools, including the Cynics and Stoics.

Trial and death

In 399 BC, Socrates was put on trial by the Athenian democracy on charges of refusing to recognize the gods of the state, introducing new divinities, and corrupting the youth of Athens. His accusers were the poet Meletus, the politician Anytus, and the rhetorician Lycon. He defended himself in a speech dramatized by Plato in the *Apology*, but was found guilty by a narrow margin. When given the opportunity to propose his own penalty, he provocatively suggested he be honored as a public benefactor. The jury then sentenced him to death by drinking a concoction of hemlock. He spent his final days in prison, as recounted in Plato's *Crito* and *Phaedo*, calmly discussing philosophy and refusing offers to escape arranged by his friends like Crito.

Legacy and influence

Socrates's most profound direct influence was on his student Plato, whose works form the foundation of much of Western philosophy and feature Socrates as the central character. Plato's student, Aristotle, in turn, built upon and critiqued Socratic ideas. He is considered a seminal figure in the development of Western ethics and political philosophy. Later philosophical movements, including Stoicism and Skepticism, traced their roots to his methods. His martyrdom for philosophy has been a powerful symbol of the thinker in conflict with the state, influencing figures from Cicero to the thinkers of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

Depictions in art and popular culture

Socrates has been a frequent subject in art, literature, and drama for centuries. He appears as a central character in Plato's dialogues and in the works of Xenophon. In visual art, he is famously depicted in Jacques-Louis David's neoclassical painting *The Death of Socrates*. He features in satirical plays like Aristophanes' *The Clouds*, which caricatured his philosophical school. Modern portrayals include a significant role in Mary Renault's historical novel *The Last of the Wine* and in Roberto Rossellini's film *Socrates*. He is also referenced in various works of popular culture, from the play *Barefoot in Athens* to episodes of television series like *The Simpsons*.

Category:5th-century BC births Category:399 BC deaths Category:Ancient Athenian philosophers Category:Classical Greek philosophers Category:Executed ancient Greek people