by Bertie Radcliffe

Created on: March 09, 2009

The judicial execution of Socrates in 399 B.C. was one that shook the foundations of Plato's belief in the value of democracy. If his outrage is clear, the reason why Plato was such an admirer of Socrates remains an interesting and poignant question. The fact that Socrates' voice, and so his character traits and qualities remain only in the works of Plato, and to a lesser extent those of Xenophon and Aristophanes[1]

establishes the Phaedo as one of the most important portrayals of Socrates' at the conclusion of his life, the last of his moments "during the time till sundown".

Although Plato doesn't participate in the dialogue of the Phaedo, in the interests of literary excellence as well as those of philosophical understanding, the Phaedo provides Socrates with an audience, his friends and pupils, who act as a dramatic device to enliven what could have otherwise been a rather stale monologue. The friends of Socrates in the Phaedo, however, serve an additional purpose, perhaps as substitutes for what would have been Plato's involvement, in reacting to the remarkable character traits of Socrates, showing considerable loyalty to a condemned prisoner. These qualities of Socrates can, it seems, be divided into four areas: intelligence; courage; his camaraderie and pride in his students; and lastly his piety.

Of Socrates formidable intelligence there can be no doubt. He was, after all, recognised as the greatest philosopher of his time. Indeed, his intelligence is such that he has been able to attract pupils from other parts of Greece: Cebes at one stage speaks in his own, foreign, dialect[2]. This is not the only evidence of Socrates wisdom. In the Phaedo, it seems that Socrates pronounces statements that seem to be illogical, draw out the objections of his friends, but are in fact, as Socrates always manages to prove, correct. A good example of such an ostensibly false conclusion is that at the beginning of the dialogue, when Socrates claims that "those who would be better off dead may not without sin do themselves a good turn[3]. Despite this seemingly illogical conclusion, Socrates proceeds to demonstrate to his sceptical students the validity of his argument. Additionally, Socrates'
intelligence is shown by the reactions of his friends to his arguments, usually
or , depending upon whether Socrates is looking for a positive or negative response, but he always, in the end, overcomes any objections to his theories.

Socrates, however, is not simply a persuasive orator

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