Socrates: The Dichotomy between Aristophanes and Plato’s Depictions
Socrates:
The Dichotomy between Aristophanes and Plato’s Depictions
Ignorance: the condition of being uninformed or uneducated; this basic definition is crucial to understanding one of the most controversial figures in ancient Athenian society: the philosopher Socrates. The man’s entire life was devoted to proving the fact that no one actually knew what they thought they did; that everyone lived in ignorance. This viewpoint earned Socrates many enemies, so many that even a renowned playwright, Aristophanes, decided to exploit the situation. He wrote his critiquing play of Socrates called The Clouds; a scathing criticism that the philosopher would partially attribute to his future indictment on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens. The Clouds was not the only literary work that was centered around Socrates however; the works of Plato (a student of Socrates) depict the man in an entirely different light. The Apology of Socrates, a dialogue by Plato, portrays the trial of Socrates as he gives an “apology” or a speech in his defense in order to refute the charges against him. The tones of these two works contrast each other completely; The Clouds being a work that satirizes Socrates while the Apology of Socrates holds the philosopher in much higher esteem. The fact of the matter is that during the turbulent time in which Socrates lived, there were dissenting opinions as to the man’s ideologies; two stark differentiations being the contrast between negative connotation of Aristophanes’ Clouds and the more positive implication of Plato’s Apology of Socrates. The Clouds begins with the introduction of a father and son, Strepsiades and Pheidippides respectively. Due to Pheidippides’ penchant for gambling, the two are stuck underneath the thumb of creditors who want their money. Strepsiades is unable to pay his son’s debts and due to Pheidippides’ refusal to get a job, he is at his wits end. In order to potentially talk his way out of the debt,
The Dichotomy between Aristophanes and Plato’s Depictions
Ignorance: the condition of being uninformed or uneducated; this basic definition is crucial to understanding one of the most controversial figures in ancient Athenian society: the philosopher Socrates. The man’s entire life was devoted to proving the fact that no one actually knew what they thought they did; that everyone lived in ignorance. This viewpoint earned Socrates many enemies, so many that even a renowned playwright, Aristophanes, decided to exploit the situation. He wrote his critiquing play of Socrates called The Clouds; a scathing criticism that the philosopher would partially attribute to his future indictment on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens. The Clouds was not the only literary work that was centered around Socrates however; the works of Plato (a student of Socrates) depict the man in an entirely different light. The Apology of Socrates, a dialogue by Plato, portrays the trial of Socrates as he gives an “apology” or a speech in his defense in order to refute the charges against him. The tones of these two works contrast each other completely; The Clouds being a work that satirizes Socrates while the Apology of Socrates holds the philosopher in much higher esteem. The fact of the matter is that during the turbulent time in which Socrates lived, there were dissenting opinions as to the man’s ideologies; two stark differentiations being the contrast between negative connotation of Aristophanes’ Clouds and the more positive implication of Plato’s Apology of Socrates. The Clouds begins with the introduction of a father and son, Strepsiades and Pheidippides respectively. Due to Pheidippides’ penchant for gambling, the two are stuck underneath the thumb of creditors who want their money. Strepsiades is unable to pay his son’s debts and due to Pheidippides’ refusal to get a job, he is at his wits end. In order to potentially talk his way out of the debt,
Cited: Aristophanes, Plato. 4 Texts on Socrates. Trans. West, Thomas G., Grace Starry West. New York: Cornell University. 1998. Print.