Socrates Biography

(c. 470 BCE–399 BCE)

UPDATED:
SEP 9, 2019
ORIGINAL:

Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher considered to be the

main source of Western thought. He was condemned to death for
his Socratic method of questioning.
Who Was Socrates?

Socrates was a scholar, teacher and philosopher born in ancient Greece. His Socratic
method laid the groundwork for Western systems of logic and philosophy. 

When the political climate of Greece turned against him, Socrates was sentenced to death
by hemlock poisoning in 399 B.C. He accepted this judgment rather than fleeing into exile.

Early Years

Born circa 470 B.C. in Athens, Greece, Socrates's life is chronicled through only a few
sources: the dialogues of Plato and Xenophon and the plays of Aristophanes. 

Because these writings had other purposes than reporting his life, it is likely none present a
completely accurate picture. However, collectively, they provide a unique and vivid
portrayal of Socrates's philosophy and personality.

Socrates was the son of Sophroniscus, an Athenian stonemason and sculptor, and
Phaenarete, a midwife. Because he wasn't from a noble family, he probably received a basic
Greek education and learned his father's craft at a young age. It's believed Socrates worked
as mason for many years before he devoted his life to philosophy. 

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Contemporaries differ in their account of how Socrates supported himself as a philosopher.
Both Xenophon and Aristophanes state Socrates received payment for teaching, while Plato
writes Socrates explicitly denied accepting payment, citing his poverty as proof.
Socrates married Xanthippe, a younger woman, who bore him three sons: Lamprocles,
Sophroniscus and Menexenus. There is little known about her except for Xenophon's
characterization of Xanthippe as "undesirable." 

He writes she was not happy with Socrates's second profession and complained that he
wasn’t supporting family as a philosopher. By his own words, Socrates had little to do with
his sons' upbringing and expressed far more interest in the intellectual development of
Athens' other young boys.

Life in Athens

Athenian law required all able-bodied males serve as citizen soldiers, on call for duty from
ages 18 until 60. According to Plato, Socrates served in the armored infantry — known as
the hoplite — with shield, long spear and face mask. 

He participated in three military campaigns during the Peloponnesian War, at Delium,

Amphipolis and Potidaea, where he saved the life of Alcibiades, a popular Athenian
general. 

Socrates was known for his fortitude in battle and his fearlessness, a trait that stayed with
him throughout his life. After his trial, he compared his refusal to retreat from his legal
troubles to a soldier's refusal to retreat from battle when threatened with death.

Plato's Symposium provides the best details of Socrates' physical appearance. He was not

the ideal of Athenian masculinity. Short and stocky, with a snub nose and bulging eyes,
Socrates always seemed to appear to be staring. 

However, Plato pointed out that in the eyes of his students, Socrates possessed a different
kind of attractiveness, not based on a physical ideal but on his brilliant debates and
penetrating thought. 

Socrates always emphasized the importance of the mind over the relative unimportance of
the human body. This credo inspired Plato’s philosophy of dividing reality into two
separate realms, the world of the senses and the world of ideas, declaring that the latter was
the only important one.

Philosophy

Socrates believed that philosophy should achieve practical results for the greater well-being
of society. He attempted to establish an ethical system based on human reason rather than
theological doctrine. 
Socrates pointed out that human choice was motivated by the desire for happiness. Ultimate
wisdom comes from knowing oneself. The more a person knows, the greater his or her
ability to reason and make choices that will bring true happiness. 

Socrates believed that this translated into politics with the best form of government being
neither a tyranny nor a democracy. Instead, government worked best when ruled by
individuals who had the greatest ability, knowledge and virtue, and possessed a complete
understanding of themselves.

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Socratic Method

For Socrates, Athens was a classroom and he went about asking questions of the elite and
common man alike, seeking to arrive at political and ethical truths. Socrates didn’t lecture
about what he knew. In fact, he claimed to be ignorant because he had no ideas, but wise
because he recognized his own ignorance. 

He asked questions of his fellow Athenians in a dialectic method — the Socratic

Method — which compelled the audience to think through a problem to a logical
conclusion. Sometimes the answer seemed so obvious, it made Socrates' opponents look
foolish. For this, his Socratic Method was admired by some and vilified by others.

During Socrates' life, Athens was going through a dramatic transition from hegemony in
the classical world to its decline after a humiliating defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian
War. Athenians entered a period of instability and doubt about their identity and place in
the world. 

As a result, they clung to past glories, notions of wealth and a fixation on physical beauty.
Socrates attacked these values with his insistent emphasis on the greater importance of the
mind. 

While many Athenians admired Socrates' challenges to Greek conventional wisdom and the
humorous way he went about it, an equal number grew angry and felt he threatened their
way of life and uncertain future.

Trial of Socrates

In 399 B.C., Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and
of impiety, or heresy. He chose to defend himself in court.

Rather than present himself as wrongly accused, Socrates declared he

fulfilled an important role as a gadfly, one who provides an important
service to his community by continually questioning and challenging the
status quo and its defenders.

The jury was not swayed by Socrates' defense and convicted him by a
vote of 280 to 221. Possibly the defiant tone of his defense contributed to
the verdict and he made things worse during the deliberation over his
punishment. 
Athenian law allowed a convicted citizen to propose an alternative
punishment to the one called for by the prosecution and the jury would
decide. Instead of proposing he be exiled, Socrates suggested he be
honored by the city for his contribution to their enlightenment and be paid
for his services. 

The jury was not amused and sentenced him to death by drinking a
mixture of poison hemlock.

Socrates' Death

Before Socrates' execution, friends offered to bribe the guards and rescue
him so he could flee into exile. 

He declined, stating he wasn't afraid of death, felt he would be no better

off if in exile and said he was still a loyal citizen of Athens, willing to abide
by its laws, even the ones that condemned him to death. 

Plato described Socrates' execution in his Phaedo dialogue: Socrates

drank the hemlock mixture without hesitation. Numbness slowly crept into
his body until it reached his heart. Shortly before his final breath, Socrates
described his death as a release of the soul from the body.