Socrates ( BC)

Socrates was a Greek philosopher and the main source of Western thought. Very little is known of his life as he didn’t write his ideas down except what was recorded by his students, including Plato. Socrates was born around 470 BC, in Athens, Greece. He was the son of a stone mason and sculptor, and a midwife. Because he wasn't from a noble family, he probably received a basic Greek education and learned his father's craft at a young age. It is believed Socrates worked as mason for many years before he devoted his life to philosophy.

When he grew up, Socrates married a younger woman, who bore him three sons. Under Athenian law, Socrates served in the army as a hoplite. He fought in the Peloponnesian War, where he saved the life of a popular Athenian general. Socrates was known for his courage in battle and fearlessness, a trait that stayed with him throughout his life. When Socrates was in his forties or so, he began to question the world around him. He asked, "What is wisdom?" and "What is beauty?" and "What is the right thing to do?" Soon he began to go around Athens asking people he met these questions. Socrates would try to teach them to think better by asking them more questions which showed them the problems in their ideas.

In 399 BC, some Athenians became angry at Socrates for what he was teaching the young men. They charged him in court with impiety (not respecting the gods) and corrupting the youth (teaching young men bad things). He had a big trial in front of an Athenian jury. He was convicted of these charges and sentenced to death, and he died soon afterwards, when the guards gave him a cup of hemlock (a poisonous plant) to drink. Socrates never wrote down any of his ideas while he was alive. But after he died, his student, Plato, did write down some of what Socrates had said which is how we know so much of what he taught.