GreekHistoricalc. 470–399 BCE
Sōkratēs
Socrates
Philosopher · Athenian public questioner
Socrates wrote no books. He made philosophy a public practice of questioning claims about courage, justice, knowledge, and the good life.
Known for
- The Socratic method
- Trial and execution at Athens
- Ethics as an examined life
- Plato’s Apology and dialogues
- Xenophon’s Memorabilia
- Aristophanes’ Clouds
His insistence that beliefs should survive reasoned examination became a starting point for several ancient philosophical schools. The disagreements among his sources also teach a basic historical skill: a famous person is not the same thing as any one portrait of that person.
The “Socratic method” remains a name for question-led teaching, especially in law and philosophy. Popular portrayals range from the solemn sage to the comic nuisance—an instability already visible in ancient Athens.
Read from the evidence