Socrates

Events

Life of Socrates

469 BCE - 399 BCE

Peloponnesian Wars

431 BCE - 404 BCE

While still a relatively young man, Socrates fought in the Athenian army during the Peloponnesian Wars.

Plato was born

427 BCE

Plato meets Socrates

407 BCE

Abandons aspiration to be playwright

Socrates Was a Member of the Boule

406 BCE

In 406 BCE, Socrates served as a member of the Boule, or council of citizens that ran the city.

Arrest of Leon

404 BCE

Socrates was one of team of individuals assigned to arrest Leon the Salaminian in Salamis. By this time, Athens was an oligarchy, ruled by a small number of individuals. While Socrates went to Salamis, he returned without Leon.

Plato Takes an Interest in Philosophy

403 BCE

Plato, having already given up playwriting, abandoned his interest in politics for an interest in Socratic philosophy.

Xenophon Was a Disciple of Socrates

403 BCE - 401 BCE

In 403 BCE, Xenophon, one of the few authors other than Plato that provide information about Socrates, entered the circle of learning around the philosopher.

Athenian Trial of Socrates

399 BCE

Socrates was tried in Athens for political crimes against the state resulting from infighting in the city government. He had the opportunity to escape during the trial, but did not take it.

Socrates Died

399 BCE

After the trial, Socrates was condemned to die by poison. He took the poison and died in 399 BCE.

Plato Fled to Megara

398 BCE

Plato and others in Socrates' close circle fled to the city of Megara following Socrates' death to avoid potential prosecution in Athens.

Plato Founded Academy

385 BCE

In 385 BCE, Plato founded the Academy to teach philosophy. The best-known of his students, Aristotle, would go on to have a lasting impact of his own.

Aristotle Founded the Lyceum

335 BCE

In 335 BCE, Aristotle, student of Plato and through Plato, Socratic philosophy, taught Alexander the Great and founded his own school of philosophy, the Lyceum.