While plato acknowledges that socrates failed in conventional terms, and develops an alternative framework for evaluating success and failure, xenophon makes the more outrageous claim that socrates was a success in conventional terms. Plato was a young but ardent follower of socrates he produced a and body of literature known as the socratic dialogues which purport to be faithful transcriptions of conversations socrates had with various people over the course of his career. Of these only the extensive works of xenophon and plato remain intact. A comparison of the defense speeches of plato and xenophon. Plato himself mentions the plans of escape of socrates friends in the context of two dialogues concerning the actual trial expressis verbis. Just as xenophon never mentions this belief either in the apology or in the memorabilia, so plato never mentions fear of old age as a motive.
Xenophon s treatment of socrates in his apology can be explained by a similar polemical motive. Plato s apology of socrates how you, men of athens, have been affected by my accusers, i do 17a not know 1. Plato s apology and xenophon s apology created date. In contrast, xenophons socrates is not dialectical and otherworldly, but makes a different appeal for philosophy. Reading and interpreting the apology of socrates and the crito, as well as the apology written by xenophon, he presents and tests his understanding of the. Jun 09, 2019 the apology by xenophon my reading is getting slightly better eh. And yet, hardly anything of what they said is true. Oct 01, 20 particularly challenging for us are xenophons accounts in his memorabilia of socrates and in his apology of socrates of the trial of socrates in athens for impiety. Xenophon was away at the time, involved in the events of the march of the ten thousand. The apology is plato s version of the speech given by socrates as he defended himself in 399 bc against the charges of corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel 24b. In the apology, socrates cites his poverty as proof that he is not a teacher.
The stylistic differences between the socratic dialogues the apology of socrates to the jury, by xenophon, and the apology of socrates, by plato, is in the literary descriptions of the philosopher, by the oracle at delphi. Located in the fertile plain known as mesogeia literally middle earth and overlooked by the beautiful mountains hymettus and penteli, erchia was about 20 kilometers 12. Platos apology of socrates how you, men of athens, have been affected by my accusers, i do 17a not know 1. This paper argues that the accounts of socrates behavior in court given by both plato and xenophon stem from the need these authors felt to re. Apology of socrates it seems to me fitting to hand down to memory, furthermore, how socrates, on being indicted, deliberated on his defence and on his end. Xenophons defense of socrates ancient history encyclopedia. In some respects, xenophon s socrates resemblres plato s.
Of the many lies they told, one in particular surprised me, namely that you should be careful not to be deceived. But where platos socrates reminds us who chaerephon was, xenophons socrates. This paper argues that the accounts of socrates behavior in court given by both plato and xenophon stem from the need these authors felt to respond, in different ways, to. The apology of socrates cambridge greek and latin classics plato, xenophon, denyer, nicholas on. Nov 25, 20 in memorabilia and in oeconomicus, a dialogue about household management, we see the philosopher socrates through the eyes of his associate, xenophon. Although in none of platos dialogues is plato himself a conversational partner or even a witness to a conversation, in the apology socrates says that plato is one of several friends in the audience. Xenophon s apology of socrates download ebook pdf, epub. The obviously authoritative account of that trial, for almost two and a half millennia now, has been platos apology of socrates. Plato reports socrates description of this as a voice not directing his actions but serving only as a deterrent when he or his friends were contemplating doing. It is true that others have written about this, and that all of them have reproduced the loftiness of his words,a fact which proves that his utterance really was of the character intimated. Xenophon s socrates although socrates himself left behind no writings for us, his disciples aeschines, antisthenes, aristippus, cebes, crito, euclides, phaedo, simmias, xenophon, and plato wrote socratic dialogues portraying his teaching in literary form. Xenophon of athens, apology loeb classical library.
For my part, even i nearly forgot myself because of them, so persuasively did they speak. Jan 18, 2012 xenophon 430354 bce was an early disciple of socrates and a contemporary of plato. Xenophon s dependence on the logoi sokratikoi written. Where and in which manner xenophon depended on these two platonic dialogues in his apology will. It seems to me fitting to hand down to memory, furthermore, how socrates, on being indicted, deliberated on his defence and on his end. Yes, because my property is sufficient to satisfy my. But xenophon s socrates unlike plato s interestingly shows a marked interest in practical matters. Both plato and xenophon wrote an apology concerning the death of socrates. Plato was not, like xenophon, a chronicler of facts. Plato reports socrates description of this as a voice not directing his actions but serving only as a deterrent when he or his friends were contemplating doing something inadvisable.
Xenophon s apology is an interesting complement to plato s account of socratess defense at his trial. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Pdf the relationship between plato and xenophon has been the subject of research for many years. I do not know, men of athens, how my accusers affected you. Platos apology of socrates is both poetry and an act of reformation, justifying the life of philosophy, challenging the authority of the pagan gods and heroes, and introducing socrates as a heroic and even divine figure. A further difference between plato and xenophon is that whereas plato has socrates finally. Plato was a young but ardent follower of socrates and he produced a body of literature known as the socratic dialogues which. Xenophon oeconomicus study guide, ancient gender and sexuality. The supreme megalegoria is thus placed in the mouth of the god, as in plato. The apologyxenophon free downloadpdf epubfreeditorial.
Xenophon was away on his persian campaign during the trial and death of socrates. In addition to platos apology of socrates, there are two more platonic writings devoted to the atermath of socrates trial crito and phaedo that have inluenced xenophons opusculum. After the execution of socrates in 399 bc, a number of his followers wrote dialogues featuring him as the protagonist and, in. That xenophon probably adopted this particular information from platos writings coincides with paul vander waerdts suspicion that plato was the model for xenophons apology. Click download or read online button to get xenophon s apology of socrates book now. Xenophon was born during the early years of the peloponnesian war, in the outlying deme of athens called erchia. This is evident in the apology, but even more perhaps in plato s phaedo the account of the day of socrates death. Hermogenes, the indigent brother of the rich callias, appears, both from xenophons apology and symposium and from plato, to have been an intimate in the. Xenophon and aristophanes respectively portray socrates as accepting payment for teaching and running a sophist school with chaerephon, while in plato s apology of socrates and symposium socrates explicitly denies accepting payment for teaching. The apology of plato is not the report of what socrates said, but an elaborate. The influence of platos crito and phaedo on xenophons apology of.
Garvin 20 introduction it would not be possible to overestimate the importance of socrates in the development of the. The apology of socrates to the jury by xenophon of athens, is a socratic dialogue about the. The influence of platos crito and phaedo on xenophons. He is best known as the mercenary general who wrote the anabasis, which relates his adventures in leading his men out of persia and back to greece after the disastrous campaign of cyrus the younger. On the socrates of xenophon and of plato george anastaplos. By contrast, plato s socrates very often serves as mouthpiece for a strikingly original and sophisticated metaphysics, logic, and ethics. Far more obviously than plato xenophon calls attention in his writings to his own relationship with socrates. Fowler translation, loeb 19 edited with introduction and notes by e. Nevertheless, much of xenophon s socratic writing, especially apology, concerns that very trial and the defence socrates put forward.
The apology by xenophon my reading is getting slightly better eh. Platos apology professes to be a report, complete but without comment by the reporter, of the three speeches delivered by socrates at his trial. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. A further decade of undiminished intellectual powers seems to be available to the platonic socrates. This paper argues that the accounts of socrates behavior in court given by both plato and xenophon stem from the need these authors felt to respond, in different ways, to the posttrial debate. He is not therefore to be supplemented from the memorabilia and symposium of xenophon, who belongs to an entirely different class of writers. Plato and xenophon on socrat es behavior in court bar ilan university transactions of the american philological association 3 2003 2821. In addition to platos apology of socrates, there are two more platonic writings devoted to the aftermath of socrates trial. Apology xenophon, dakyns translation wikisource, the free. The apology and trial of socrates plato and xenophon by. Among the reminiscences of socrates, none, as it seems to me, is more deserving of record than the counsel he took with himself 2 after being cited to appear before the court, not only with regard to his defence, but also as to the ending of his life. Download xenophon s the apology for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or mobile.
The apology by plato i do not know, men of athens, how my accusers affected you. In the symposium, we obtain insight on life in athens. Yes, because my property is sufficient to satisfy my wants, but i dont think you would have. Others have written on this theme, and all without exception have touched upon 3 the lofty style of the philosopher.
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