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Headword: Sôkratês
Adler number: sigma,829
Translated headword: Socrates, Sokrates
Vetting Status: high
Translation:
The son of Sophroniscus, a stonecutter, and, as his mother, of Phaenarete, a midwife. At first he [sc. too] became a stonecutter, so that they say that his task was the Graces embedded in Athens; then, he took up philosophy after hearing the lectures of Anaxagoras of Clazomenae, then of Damon, and then of Archelaus. Aristoxenus however says that he listened to Archelaus first. He also said that he [sc. Socrates] became his [sc. Archelaos'] beloved, and was very intense in erotic matters, but without any wrong-doing, as Porphyry says in the Philosophic History.[1] When he had arrived at manhood he went on campaign to Amphipolis and Potidaea and [sc. he fought] at Delion. He was married twice, to Xanthippe, from whom he begot a son Lamprocles, and then as a second wife, to Myrto, the daughter of Aristeides the Just, by whom were born Sophroniscus and Menedemus or Menexenus, as some think.[2] And he lived approximately in the time of the Peloponnesian War, in the 77th Olympiad,[3] and he lived 80 years, then because of the irrationality -- or rather the madness -- of the Athenians, was forced to drink hemlock and died, having left nothing in writing or, as some claim, a hymn to Apollo and Artemis and an Aesopic fable in epic verse. Among the philosophers he trained was Plato, who left the Lyceum, a place in Athens, and transferred the school in a suburb, called the Academy, and those who followed were called the Academics until Aristotle. Now he [sc. Aristotle] had been a disciple of Plato and passed his time in a certain garden outside the city. From his strolling around he gave the name Peripatetics to his followers. Amongst them was Aristippus the Cyrenaean, who introduced his own sect and established a school called the Cyrenaic; Phaedo the Elean, who established his school called after him the Eleatic, but later it was called the Eretrian -- since Menedemus taught in Eretria -- and from this teacher Pyrrhus too arose; Antisthenes, who introduced the Cynic sect; Euclides of Megara, who established his own school, which is named Megarian after him, but from Clinomachus the disciple of Euclides it was [sc. also] called the Dialectic [school]; Xenophon the son of Gryllus; Aeschines; Lysanias of Sphettos;[4] Cebes of Thebes, Glaucon of Athens; Bryson of Heraclea -- [it was he] who introduced eristic dialectic after Euclides, whereas Clinomachus augmented it, and whereas many came on account of it, it came to an end with Zeno of Citium, for he gave it the name Stoic, after its location [a stoa], this having occurred in the 105th Olympiad (but some [say that] Bryson was a student not of Socrates but of Euclides; Pyrrho was also a student of his, from whom the Pyrrhics get their name); Alcibiades, Critobulus, Xenomedon, and Apollodorus, [all of them] Athenians; in addition Crito and Simo(n), Eumares the Philasian [= Phliasian], Simmias the Theban, Terpsion the Megarian, Chaerephon. And Theodorus, who was called 'the atheist', also was a disciple of his; holding an opinion about moral indifference and teaching it, he founded his own sect, which is called the Theodoran.
[It is said] that[5] when Socrates took up philosophy, he became a student of Archelaus the natural philosopher. But he placed moral philosophy first[6] and had well-known citizens [sc. as students]: Plato, Xenophon, Alcibiades, Critias, Antisthenes; the Thebans Simmias and Cebes; the Cyrenaean Aristippus, Phaedon, and Euclides the Megarian. He said that a guardian spirit [daimonion] associated with him. He even learned to play the kithara from Conon, although he was already elderly.[7] When he was teased by Solon,[8] he said, 'Better a late learner than ignorant'. By Xanthippe he fathered Sophroniscus and Lamprocles. He was envied because most of the young men were erotically attracted to him. And first Aristophanes wrote a comedy, the Clouds, against him, charging that he corrupted the youth and was an atheist, because he swore by 'the dog' and 'the plane-tree'[9] in an exaggeration of religiosity. Finally Anytus and Meletus indicted him on these charges and won their case. In the assessing of punishments he proposed dinners in the Prytaneum whereas they proposed death.[10] Moreover he was confined for some time until the delegation of official observers should return from Delos. And it was not allowed, once the ship had set sail until it returned to port, for anyone to be judicially executed. Although Crito proposed exile for him, he rejected the idea, for he said that one ought not to violate the laws. When he had drunk the hemlock, he recalled a vow he had made and said, 'Sacrifice to Asclepius'. A man by the name of Cyrsas,[11] of Chian stock, came to associate with Socrates. As he slept by the tomb, [Socrates] appeared in a dream and conversed with him. So he straightway sailed home having only this profit from the philosopher.
Greek Original:
Sôkratês, Sôphroniskou lithoxoou kai mêtros Phainaretês maias: proteron genomenos lithoxoos, hôste kai phasin autou ergon einai tas Athênêsin endedumenas Charitas: eita philosophêsas dia to akousai Anaxagorou tou Klazomeniou, eita Damônos, eita Archelaou. Aristoxenos de Archelaou prôton auton diakousai legei: gegonenai de autou kai paidika, sphodrotaton te peri ta aphrodisia, alla adikêmatos chôris, hôs Porphurios en têi Philosophôi historiai phêsin. eis de andras elthôn estrateusato eis te Amphipolin kai Potidaian kai epi Dêliôi. kai gametais de sunôikêse duo, Xanthippêi, aph' hês eschen huion Lamproklea: kai deuterai Murtoi, têi Aristeidou tou dikaiou thugatri, ex hês egeneto Sôphroniskos kai Menedêmos ê Menexenos, hôs tisi dokei. kai epi men tôn Peloponnêsiakôn gegonen, hôs tupôi eipein, olumpiadi oz#, ebiô de etê p#, eita alogiai, mallon de aponoiai tôn Athênaiôn biastheis piein kôneion apethanen, engraphon ouden katalipôn ê, hôs tines boulontai, humnon eis Apollôna kai Artemin, kai muthon Aisôpeion di' epôn. philosophous de eirgasato Platôna, hos katalipôn to Lukeion, topos de houtos Athênôn, metêgage tên scholên en proasteiôi, têi Akadêmiai prosagoreuomenêi, kai hoi ap' autou Akadêmaïkoi prosêgoreuthêsan mechri Aristotelous: autos gar akroatês tou Platônos genomenos, eis kêpon tina pro tês poleôs tas diatribas poiêsamenos ek tou kat' auton peripatou Peripatêtikous ônomase tous ap' autou: kai Aristippon Kurênaion, hos idian hairesin eisêgage kai scholên sunestêsato, tên Kurênaïkên klêtheisan: Phaidôna Êleion, kai auton idian sustêsanta scholên, tên Êleiakên ap' autou klêtheisan, husteron de hautê Eretriakê eklêthê, Menedêmou eis Eretrian didaxantos: ek toutou de tou didaskalou kai ho Purrôn gegonen: Antisthenên, hos tên Kunikên eisêgagen hairesin: Eukleidên Megarea, kai auton idian sustêsamenon scholên, hêtis ap' autou eklêthê Megarikê, apo de Kleinomachou tou mathêtou Eukleidou eklêthê Dialektikê: Xenophônta Grullou, Aischinên, Lusanian Sphêttion, Kebêta Thêbaion, Glaukôna Athênaion, Brusôna Hêrakleôtên: hos tên eristikên dialektikên eisêgage meta Eukleidou, êuxêse de Kleinomachos, kai pollôn di' autês elthontôn, elêxen eis Zênôna ton Kitiea: houtos gar ap' autou Stôïkên ek tou topou tên scholên ônomase, gegonôs epi tês rke# Olumpiados: tines de Brusôna ou Sôkratous, all' Eukleidou akroatên graphousi: toutou de kai Purrôn êkroasato, aph' houper hoi Purrôneioi prosagoreuomenoi: Alkibiadên, Kritoboulon, Xenomêdên, Apollodôron Athênaious: eti de Kritôna kai Simôna, Eumarê Philiasion, Simmian Thêbaion, Terpsiôna Megarikon, Chairephônta. kai Theodôros de, ho epiklêtheis atheos, autou diêkousen: adiaphorian de doxazôn kai paradidous hairesin idian heuren, hêtis Theodôreios eklêthê. tauta peri Sôkratous. hoti Sôkratês philosophêsas husteron Archelaou tou phusikou mathêtês egeneto: tên êthikên de epresbeuse philosophian. esche de gnôrimous politas men Platôna, Xenophônta, Alkibiadên, Kritian, Antisthenên: Thêbaious de Simmian kai Kebêta: Kurênaion de Aristippon, Phaidôna, Eukleidên Megarea. daimonion d' autôi prosomilein elegen. emanthane de kai kitharizein para Konôni, gerôn êdê ôn: skôphtheis de hupo Solônos, opsimathês eipe mallon ê amathês. ek Xanthippês de esche Sôphroniskon kai Lamproklea. tôn neôn de tôn pleistôn erôtikôs peri auton schontôn, ephthonêthê. kai prôtos Aristophanês tas Nephelas grapsas ekômôidêsen auton hôs diaphtheironta tous neous kai atheon, dioti ton kuna kai platanon di' huperbolên deisidaimonias ômnuen: husteron de Anutos kai Melêtos epi toutois auton egrapsanto kai heilon: en tôi timêmati de heauton tês en tôi prutaneiôi sitêseôs etimêsato, hoi de thanatou etimêsan. ededeto oun epi polu, mechris an hê apo Dêlou Theôris aphikêtai. kai ouk exên achtheisês, prin epanelthein, anaireisthai tina kata dikên. Kritônos de autôi phugên sumbouleusantos, ouk êboulêthê, tous nomous eipôn dein mê parabainein. piôn de to kôneion, euchês epimnêstheis, thusate, ephê, tôi Asklêpiôi. Kursas de tis onoma, Chios to genos, hôs sunesomenos êlthe Sôkratei: hôi katheudêsanti para ton taphon onar ophtheis hômilêsen. apepleuse de euthus ekeinos, touto monon apolausas tou philosophou.
Notes:
469-399 BCE. See also sigma 830, and generally Alexander Nehamas in OCD4) s.v. Socrates.
Comparison of similar texts reveals no firm source for the entirety of this material, the closest being Diogenes Laertius' biography in his Lives of the Philosophers (D.L. 2.18-47). Rather than annotate the overwhelming list of names in this entry, I shall comment only on those presenting some problem or question. The rest may be found in OCD4, but for a discussion of the more significant names put into the context of their schools, see the Vander Waerdt anthology in the bibliography below.
[1] No work entitled The Philosophical History is attributed to the third and fourth century CE Neo-Platonist Porphyry. What we now call by that title is Damascius' work formerly called The Life of Isidore. See web address 1 below.
[2] Or perhaps Aristeides' granddaughter. According to the biographers Plutarch (Aristeides 27.3) and Diogenes Laertius (2.26), this story goes back to Aristotle and would make Socrates a bigamist; cf. lambda 377. Plutarch at 27.4 doubts the alleged work of Aristotle is really the philosopher's and refers to a strong refutation of the tale by Panaetius (fr. 132).
[3] The 77th Olympiad is 470-467, much too early for the Peloponnesian War (431-404). Evidently there is some compression or carelessness here, and we should read '[having been born] in the 77th Olympiad.
[4] So the transmitted text, but probably the name Lysanias should be genitive, not accusative, i.e. Aeschines, son of Lysanias, of Sphettos; cf. under alphaiota 346.
[5] With this sentence another source appears to take over, repeating some of the earlier material and adding more.
[6] cf. epsilon 2859.
[7] The name should be Konnos: see Plato, Euthydemus 272C (and cf. kappa 2048?). For the kithara see generally kappa 1590.
[8] Solon, who died in 560/559, could hardly have taunted Socrates, who died in 399. Furthermore, the reproach seems an odd one to attribute to Solon, whose famous verse 'I grow old, constantly learning many things' (fr.18) had wide currency in antiquity.
[9] The notion that Socrates swore by a plane tree derives from a confused memory of the scene in Plato, Phaedrus 236E, where Phaedrus (not Socrates) playfully suggests he will swear by the plane tree growing on the banks of the Ilissus, where they sit for their discussion. Aristophanes does not charge him with this oath in the Clouds. It occurs several times in Plato, e.g. Gorgias 461A and 482B. In the latter instance it is given more fully as 'by the dog, the god of the Egyptians.' Anubis, perhaps?
[10] cf. tau 628.
[11] This term, ku/rsas, otherwise appears only as a participle in the Epic language meaning 'having happened upon', but nowhere as a proper name.
Reference:
Paul A. Vander Waerdt, ed., The Socratic Movement. Cornell University Press, 1994
Associated internet address:
Web address 1
Keywords: biography; chronology; dialects, grammar, and etymology; dreams; epic; ethics; food; gender and sexuality; geography; history; law; military affairs; meter and music; philosophy; religion; science and technology; trade and manufacture; women
Translated by: Oliver Phillips ✝ on 9 August 2003@18:01:06.
Vetted by:
David Whitehead (augmented headword and keywords; added initial note; modified note 3; reversed notes 4 and 5; cosmetics) on 10 August 2003@07:27:42.
David Whitehead (augmented notes; cosmetics) on 11 August 2003@07:03:11.
David Whitehead (x-ref in n.2.) on 27 August 2004@08:04:37.
Catharine Roth (fixed wrong note number, reported by Andrew Smith) on 11 October 2004@00:55:33.
David Whitehead (another keyword) on 9 October 2005@08:44:54.
David Whitehead (another keyword) on 20 November 2005@09:35:18.
David Whitehead (another note (on Aeschines)) on 14 October 2010@07:51:33.
Catharine Roth (tweaked notes) on 7 December 2013@00:01:09.
Catharine Roth (deleted a link) on 7 December 2013@00:07:02.
David Whitehead (more keywords; tweaking; raised status) on 31 December 2013@03:58:03.
David Whitehead on 9 August 2014@11:42:58.
David Whitehead (tweaked tr at one point; another x-ref) on 5 February 2016@04:03:33.

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