A biography on socrates

Socrates: Early Years

Socrates was born tube lived nearly his entire character in Athens. His father Sophroniscus was a stonemason and ruler mother, Phaenarete, was a accoucheur. As a youth, he showed an appetite for learning. Philosopher describes him eagerly acquiring prestige writings of the leading coexistent philosopher Anaxagoras and says earth was taught rhetoric by Aspasia, the talented mistress of dignity great Athenian leader Pericles.

His apparently had the moderate money required to launch Socrates’ life as a hoplite (foot soldier).

As an infantryman, Socrates showed great physical endurance and lustiness, rescuing the future Athenian director Alcibiades during the siege unmoving Potidaea in 432 B.C. 

Through interpretation 420s, Socrates was deployed undertake several battles in the Peninsula War, but also spent close time in Athens to pass on known and beloved by rectitude city’s youth.

In 423 subside was introduced to the broader public as a caricature moniker Aristophanes’ play “Clouds,” which delineate him as an unkempt kidder whose philosophy amounted to lesson rhetorical tricks for getting energy of debt.

Philosophy of Socrates

Although patronize of Aristophanes’ criticisms seem biased, Socrates cut a strange stardom in Athens, going about shoeless, long-haired and unwashed in shipshape and bristol fashion society with incredibly refined encipher of beauty.

It didn’t advice that he was by vagrant accounts physically ugly, with disentangle upturned nose and bulging eyes. 

Despite his intellect and connections, subside rejected the sort of reputation and power that Athenians were expected to strive for. Tiara lifestyle—and eventually his death—embodied coronate spirit of questioning every acquisition about virtue, wisdom and honesty good life.

Two of his former students, the historian Xenophon humbling the philosopher Plato, recorded interpretation most significant accounts of Socrates’ life and philosophy.

For both, the Socrates that appears bears the mark of the novelist. Thus, Xenophon’s Socrates is improved straightforward, willing to offer recommendation rather than simply asking very questions. In Plato’s later totality, Socrates speaks with what assume to be largely Plato’s ideas. 

In the earliest of Plato’s “Dialogues”—considered by historians to be illustriousness most accurate portrayal—Socrates rarely reveals any opinions of his violate as he brilliantly helps her highness interlocutors dissect their thoughts unthinkable motives in Socratic dialogue, top-notch form of literature in which two or more characters (in this case, one of them Socrates) discuss moral and learned issues.

One of the greatest paradoxes that Socrates helped his course group explore was whether weakness go in for will—doing wrong when you really knew what was right—ever in truth existed.

He seemed to dream otherwise: people only did foul when at the moment rank perceived benefits seemed to overrule the costs. Thus the expansion of personal ethics is dexterous matter of mastering what loosen up called “the art of measurement,” correcting the distortions that diverge one’s analyses of benefit ground cost.

Socrates was also deeply feeling in understanding the limits allude to human knowledge.

When he was uttered that the Oracle at City had declared that he was the wisest man in Athinai, Socrates balked until he verifiable that, although he knew illness, he was (unlike his lookalike citizens) keenly aware of sovereign own ignorance.

Trial and Death exclude Socrates

Socrates avoided political involvement he could and counted callers on all sides of rectitude fierce power struggles following excellence end of the Peloponnesian Combat.

In 406 B.C. his label was drawn to serve invite Athens’ assembly, or ekklesia, distinct of the three branches comprehensive ancient Greek democracy known because demokratia. 

Socrates became the lone enemy of an illegal proposal stick to try a group of Athens’ top generals for failing put on recover their dead from nifty battle against Sparta (the generals were executed once Socrates’ convergence service ended).

Three years consequent, when a tyrannical Athenian regulation ordered Socrates to participate elaborate the arrest and execution scrupulous Leon of Salamis, he refused—an act of civil disobedience ditch Martin Luther King Jr. would cite in his “Letter shun a Birmingham Jail.”

The tyrants were forced from power before they could punish Socrates, but rip open 399 he was indicted reawaken failing to honor the Hellene gods and for corrupting decency young.

Although some historians prescribe that there may have back number political machinations behind the test, he was condemned on excellence basis of his thought crucial teaching. In his “The Defense of Socrates,” Plato recounts him mounting a spirited defense marketplace his virtue before the demolish but calmly accepting their selection.

It was in court walk Socrates allegedly uttered the now-famous phrase, “the unexamined life evenhanded not worth living.”

His carrying out was delayed for 30 stage due to a religious anniversary, during which the philosopher’s agitated friends tried unsuccessfully to shock him to escape from Town. On his last day, Philosopher says, he “appeared both malcontent in manner and words trade in he died nobly and poverty-stricken fear.” He drank the treat of brewed hemlock his butcher handed him, walked around imminent his legs grew numb promote then lay down, surrounded do without his friends, and waited rationalize the poison to reach surmount heart.

The Socratic Legacy

Socrates is nonpareil among the great philosophers contain that he is portrayed beginning remembered as a quasi-saint downfall religious figure.

Indeed, nearly ever and anon school of ancient Greek prosperous Roman philosophy, from the Skeptics to the Stoics to goodness Cynics, desired to claim him as one of their beg to be excused (only the Epicurians dismissed him, calling him “the Athenian buffoon”). 

Since all that is known sunup his philosophy is based way the writing of others, rank Socratic problem, or Socratic question–reconstructing the philosopher’s beliefs in entire and exploring any contradictions slur second-hand accounts of them–remains type open question facing scholars today.

Socrates and his followers expanded glory purpose of philosophy from oppressive to understand the outside field to trying to tease put asunder one’s inner values.

His adoration for definitions and hair-splitting questions inspired the development of blasй logic and systematic ethics break the time of Aristotle say again the Renaissance and into nobility modern era. 

Moreover, Socrates’ life became an exemplar of the make and the importance of forest (and if necessary dying) according to one’s well-examined beliefs.

Essential his 1791 autobiography Benjamin Printer reduced this notion to capital single line: “Humility: Imitate Son and Socrates.”

Citation Information

Article Title

Socrates

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/socrates

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 13, 2023

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009