Biography of Socrates

Birth

• Place: Athens

• Time: 6th day of the month Thargelion (the birthday of Artemis), during the term of Eponymous Archon Apsephion; specifically, the 4th year of the 77th Olympiad (April 29, 469 BC).

Deme (District)

Alopeke. This district belonged to the Antiochis tribe, in the Urban Trittys. Regarding its location, Aeschines mentions in Against Timarchus [99] that Alopeke was eleven or twelve stadia outside the city wall. Researchers place it between the demes of Kynosarges and Phaleron—the area covered today by Daphne, Nea Smyrni, and possibly Agios Dimitrios.

Parents

• Father: Sophroniscus

• Mother: Phaenarete

Parents' Occupation

Sophroniscus was a stone-cutter (one who gives general shape to marble before the sculptor takes over). Phaenarete was a midwife, as Socrates himself mentions in Plato's Theaetetus: "I am the son of a midwife, brave and burly, Phaenarete" [149a].

Youth and Early Career

As was custom, he followed his father’s trade. He began as his assistant but eventually evolved into a sculptor.

Sculptural Works

Pausanias the Traveler informs us that Socrates sculpted the three Graces at the Propylaea of the Acropolis. Diogenes Laertius corroborates this in Lives of Eminent Philosophers.

Teachers

He studied Anaxagoras, though Anaxagoras's teachings did not fully satisfy him, a point he discusses in the work Phaedo(On the Soul).

Rhetoric

Favorinus and Idomeneus wrote that Socrates, along with his student Aeschines, were the first to teach the art of rhetoric.

Theater

Mnésimachus, Callias, and Aristophanes mention that he collaborated with Euripides on his theatrical plays.

Travels

Unlike most philosophers, Socrates rarely traveled. In his Apology, he notes that he traveled outside Athens less than "the lame and the blind." As a youth, he went to Samos; later, he visited the Isthmus and Delphi. He loved Athens profoundly. Outside of these three instances, he only left the city to serve in battles: the campaigns of Amphipolis and Potidaea, and the Battle of Delium.

Military Distinction and Endurance

In Plato’s Symposium, Alcibiades describes Socrates’s extraordinary endurance, which surpassed the imagination of his fellow soldiers. At Potidaea, when he was due to receive the prize for bravery, he conceded it to Alcibiades. It was during that campaign that a thought gripped him, and he stood motionless as a pillar from dawn to dawn until he found the solution. At the Battle of Delium, he carried Xenophon on his back to safety after the latter had fallen from his horse.

Family Life

Some sources say Socrates married two women: first Xanthippe, with whom he had Lamprocles, and then Myrto(daughter of Aristides the Just), with whom he had Menexenus and Sophroniscus. Others suggest that due to a shortage of men (leipsandria), Athens passed a law encouraging men to take a second wife to increase birth rates. Some sources omit Myrto entirely. Socrates married and fathered children late in life; in his Apology, he mentions Lamprocles as a youth (14–21 years old) and the others as young children. This implies he fathered them between the ages of 49 and 56. His children did not achieve distinction; Aristotle even criticized them for intellectual sluggishness.

Xanthippe

Both Xenophon and Alcibiades reference Xanthippe's notoriously difficult temperament. When Alcibiades asked how he could stand her, Socrates replied: "Just as you endure the cackling of geese because they provide eggs and goslings, Xanthippe provides me with children." In Xenophon’s Symposium, Antisthenes calls her the most difficult woman to have ever lived. Socrates explained: "Those who wish to become the best riders choose the most spirited horses; if they can master them, they can handle any horse. Similarly, if I can endure Xanthippe, I can easily deal with all of humanity." In the Phaedo, Plato depicts Xanthippe weeping over Socrates's impending death, suggesting a deep bond or casting doubt on the "two-wife" theory.

Financial Status

Socrates was not wealthy by modern standards. He did not actively practice sculpture in his later years, nor did he charge for his teaching, insisting he was not a "teacher" but a conversationalist. In the Apology, he states his "divine mission" to examine the Athenians left him no time for business, politics, or family affairs.

He lived by the maxim: "To need the least is to be closest to the gods." He believed profit lay in a simple life, not material gain.

• He refused slaves offered by Charmides.

• He declined land offered by Alcibiades.

• He turned down gifts from wealthy admirers like Archelaus of Macedon.

To Socrates, wealth was the balance between basic needs and income. Since his needs were few, he considered himself wealthier than those with vast riches but even vaster desires. However, Demetrius of Phalerum notes Socrates owned his home and had 70 minae managed by Crito. His ability to serve as a hoplite (which required purchasing one's own armor) confirms he possessed some property.

Physical Appearance

Socrates had a peculiar gait; he walked with his head high and had a "bull-like," piercing sideways glance. Aristophanes joked that he walked "strutting" (brenthyei). He wore a simple, coarse cloak (tribon) regardless of the season. He exercised systematically, believing the soul and body were "communicating vessels" (as analyzed in Plato's Republic).

Life in the City

The Agora

Located Northwest of the Acropolis, the Agora (from ageiro, to gather) was the heart of Athenian life. It was a sacred space filled with temples and statues. Entry was forbidden to non-Athenians, those convicted of dishonorable crimes, and certain other groups. Friends would often pay the "entry fees" or costs required for Socrates to engage in dialogue with visiting Sophists. Notable discussions, such as the one with Zeno and Parmenides regarding the "Theory of Forms," took place in private homes like that of Pythodorus in Kerameikos.

Gymnasiums

When not in the Agora, Socrates frequented the three public gymnasiums:

1. The Lyceum: The oldest, located near the Ilissos river. Founded by Peisistratus, it featured lush greenery and plane trees. Aristotle later established his school here.

2. Kynosarges: Located in the area now known as Neos Kosmos. Named after a "white dog" (argos kyon) that snatched a sacrificial piece of meat.

3. The Academy: Located in a suburb named after the hero Academus. It was an olive grove dedicated to Athena. Cimon transformed it into a shaded park; Plato later founded his school and was buried there.

Socrates's Positions and Teaching

• The Soul and Matter: The Soul is immaterial and drawn to the Good (Heaven), while the Body is material and drawn to the Earth. Freedom is found in detaching from matter to align with the Good.

• Wisdom: Socrates argued that the universe is mathematically perfect and therefore Wise. While Pythagoras claimed only the "All-Generating Mind" is Wise, Socrates defined Philosophy (the love of wisdom) as a human "measure" for comparing all things.

• Reality: Reality is a constant (const), while our perception of it is a variable (var). In the Republic, he describes four levels of thought. His dialogues are structured to address all four levels simultaneously, pulling the listener upward toward knowledge.

The Socratic Method (Maieutics)

Socrates called his technique "Maieutics" (midwifery). He claimed he didn't give birth to ideas but helped others "deliver" the ideas already present in their souls.

1. Irony: He began by professing ignorance ("I know one thing: that I know nothing").

2. Examination: Through questioning, he led arrogant interlocutors into logical dead ends, forcing them to realize their own ignorance—the "Know Thyself" (Gnothi Seauton) stage.

3. Ascent: Once ignorance was admitted, the questions shifted from critical to uplifting, helping the soul "remember" the truth.

The Accusers and the Trial

The Accusers

1. Anytus: A wealthy leather-tanner and Democratic politician. He hated Socrates personally and politically after Socrates criticized his arrogance and mockingly suggested his son would be better off than a tanner.

2. Meletus: A young, obscure poet described as having lanky hair and a hooked nose. He was the one who officially filed the charges.

3. Lycon: A demagogue who prepared the evidence for the trial.

The Charge

In 423 BC, Aristophanes’s play The Clouds satirized Socrates as a Sophist who corrupted the youth and introduced "cloudy" new gods. These lies formed the basis of the official indictment 23 years later:

"Socrates is guilty of not recognizing the gods the city recognizes and of introducing other new divinities; he is also guilty of corrupting the youth. The penalty: Death."

The Trial

Tried before the Heliaia (a jury of 501 citizens), the 70-year-old Socrates defended himself for roughly six hours.

• The Oracle: He recounted how the Delphic Oracle called him the "wisest of men." He realized this was because he alone recognized his own ignorance.

• The Fly: He famously compared himself to a gadfly sent by the gods to sting the "lazy horse" of Athens into wakefulness.

• The Verdict: He was found guilty by a narrow margin (281 to 220).

The Sentence

When asked to propose his own penalty, Socrates suggested he be given free meals for life at the Prytaneum (an honor reserved for Olympic heroes). This "insult" angered the jury further. Even though his friends (Plato, Crito, etc.) offered to pay a fine of 30 minae, the jury sentenced him to death by a larger margin.

The End

Socrates remained in prison for 30 days while awaiting the return of the sacred ship from Delos. During this time, he refused to escape, arguing in the Crito that a citizen must obey the laws. In the Phaedo, he discussed the immortality of the soul with his friends. When the time came, he calmly drank the hemlock, eager to "run toward eternal knowledge." It was the 1st year of the 95th Olympiad (400 BC).

Nikolaos Ch. Koundourakis | IDAION
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