Socrates

469-399 B.C.
Socrates is a famous philosopher from the ancient Greece.
Having served with some distinction as a soldier at Delium and
Amphipolis during the Peloponnesian War, Socrates dabbled in the
political turmoil that consumed Athens after the War, then retired
from active life to work as a stonemason and to raise his children
with his wife, Xanthippe. After inheriting a big fortune from his
father, the sculptor Sophroniscus, Socrates used his marginal
financial independence as an opportunity to give full-time attention
to inventing the practice of philosophical dialogue.
Socrates then began to study and work with students in
Athens. He would often question them on popular opinions of that
time. He would never charge his students for the time he spent
working with them. As time went on, parents of these students
became sceptical of Socrates and were unsure if they wanted their
children to work with him because his ideas were so radical. After
several years of parents feeling this way, they brought him to court.
He was found guilty of corrupting the youth and interfering with
the religion of the city and was ordered to die. Socrates took this
punishment with grace and drank hemlock, a poison, as he was
with his friends and loved ones.
Socrates work is best known by the information given by
Plato, Socrates most successful student.