Biography of Socrates

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Socrates is known in todays world as one of the greatest philosophers in history. He brought many revolutionary ideas to ancient Athens during his life and even after his death. He had many followers that beloved him even till death. His tragic death only led him to become a martyr for philosophy. Socrates never wrote anything down so what we know of his life is the from the records left by his followers, mainly Plato.

Socrates was born around 470 B.C. in Athens to a family with moderate wealth. His father was a mason and his mother was a midwife. He followed his father’s footsteps and became a stone mason as his first job. He was a mason for a few years before he decided to become a philosopher. Because of his family’s wealth, he was able to become a foot soldier for the Greek army. He served during the Peloponnesian War. During the war he served campaigns in Delium, Amphipolis, and Potidea. During his time in the army, he also saved Alcibiades, a famous and important general of the Greek army. After he served his time in the army, he married a woman named Xanthippe and had three sons with her. Unfortunately he had a very rocky marriage as Socrates spent more time teaching the youth of Athens then spending time with his own sons. His wife was also angry with him for his current job. Philosophy does not always pay the bills.

Socrates was the “Hipster” of his time. He walked around the streets of Athens barefoot, with long hair, and unwashed in a city that had a high regard for beauty. Socrates was also known to be physically ugly which did not help his standing in Athenian culture. It was because of this that Socrates emphasized the importance of the mind over the relative unimportance of the human body(Biography.com) He opp...

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... to be true. Socrates did not fear death as stated earlier, and that might have also stemmed from his belief in an all mighty creator. The records that Plato recorded of Socrates say that he did not acknowledge the many gods of Athens and many times referred to one God. It may seem that one of the reasons that Socrates did not try to refuse his own death was that he knew that he would go to a better place after his time here was through. Socrates was truly a man that helped Athens through his philosophy. He encouraged the people to practice correct conduct and behavior and to closely examine the differences between right and wrong.

Works Cited

“Socrates.” 2013. History.com. Dec 12 2013
“Socrates.” 2013. Biography.com. Dec 12 2013
Sproul,R.C. The Consequences of Ideas. Illinois: Crossway, 2000.
Print.
“Socrates: Philosophical Life” Philosophypages.com. Dec 12 2013

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