The Recordless: A Socrates Biography

“The philosopher Socrates remains, as he was in his lifetime, an enigma, an instructable individual who, despite having written nothing, is considered one of the handful of philosophers who forever changed how philosophy itself was to be conceived”(Nails). A great philosopher named Socrates once changed the very way man perceived nature. Socrates was a man that lived life to its fullest, from being a foot soldier, or hoplite, to freelancing around the town hall barefoot and smelly. Socrates, because he never wrote or recorded anything, is only known today from non-primary sources, and the majority of what we know is only from the second half of his life.

Socrates, like most men during this time period, had a toned body; however, Socrates’ features would not exactly be considered “beautiful” in Athenian culture. His nose expressed huge nostrils by having an upward point, and he had very bulging eyes, as if someone was strangling him and his eyes were about to pop out. The repulsive appearance does not stop there, though. On a regular basis, Socrates would roam the great city of Athens barefoot, in dirty clothes with a vile stench. This was unacceptable in social life, and people frowned upon him for this physical appearance(Nails).

Historians did not learn of his appearances from his own writing. In fact, Socrates never wrote or kept written records for anything. Most of our knowledge of Socrates comes from second hand stories and written sources, although not all match. Some depicted him as a goofy man filled with clumsiness who wreaked of the stench of alcohol. Others say this mastermind and outstanding teacher brought a whole new meaning to life for man. Which one are historians to believe? Well this brings me to the “Socrati...

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...ys, Socrates was not very liked by Athenian culture. With unbearable physical appearances as a burden, he also had a mindset that contradicts Athenian culture itself. When Athens brought Socrates in for trial, he was convicted of dishonoring Athenians gods and corrupting youthful minds. This conviction happened in 399 BCE. The penalty for him was death. They ordered him to drink some brewed hemlock, which would poison and kill him. As Plato put it when discovering of Socrates’ punishment, he stated, “He appeared both happy in manner and words as he died nobly and without fear”(“Socrates”).

Works Cited

Nails, Debra. “Socrates”. Stanford University. Stanford University, 16 September 2005. 18 April 2014. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates

“Socrates”. History.com. A&E Television Networks. 18 April 2014.

http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/socrates