1. Life

Abstract

‘Life’ explains that virtually nothing is known about the first half of Socrates’ life, but details of his later life, with his wife Xanthippe and his sons, are provided. Socrates was seen as an arguer and questioner, who went about challenging people’s pretensions to expertise and revealing inconsistencies in their beliefs, but also as a religious deviant and a subverter of traditional religion and morality. In 400 or 399 he was accused of not recognizing the gods of the city, introducing new gods, and corrupting the young—a charge that probably had a political dimension. He was sentenced to death. Though there is no record of the actual trial, accounts were provided by Plato and Xenophon.