Myrto (; el, Μυρτώ; fl. 5th century BC) was, according to some accounts, a wife of
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
.
Sources
The original source for the claim that she was Socrates' wife appears to have been a work by
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
called ''On Being Well-Born'',
[Athenaeus, xiii. 555D–556A][Plutarch, ''Aristides'', xxvii. 3–4][Diogenes Laërtius, ii. 26] although
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
expresses doubt that the work is genuine. She was apparently the daughter,
or, more probably, the granddaughter of
Aristides.
A different account of Xanthippe and Myrto is given in
Aristoxenus
Aristoxenus of Tarentum ( el, Ἀριστόξενος ὁ Ταραντῖνος; born 375, fl. 335 BC) was a Greek Peripatetic philosopher, and a pupil of Aristotle. Most of his writings, which dealt with philosophy, ethics and music, have been ...
's ''Life of Socrates'' written in the latter part of the fourth century BC that Aristoxenus asserts is based on first-person accounts by his father. This claims that Myrto was his legitimate wife and Xanthippe his mistress, whose child became legitimate.
Although
Diogenes Laërtius describes Myrto as Socrates' second wife living alongside
Xanthippe
Xanthippe (; , , ; 5th–4th century BCE) was an ancient Athenian, the wife of Socrates and mother of their three sons: Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. She was likely much younger than Socrates, perhaps by as much as 40 years.
Name
...
, Myrto was presumably a
common-law wife,
[Luis E. Navia (1985), ''Socrates, the man and his philosophy'', p. 78] and Plutarch describes Myrto as merely living "together with the sage Socrates, who had another woman but took up this one as she remained a widow due to her poverty and lacked the necessities of life."
and Diogenes Laërtius report that
Hieronymus of Rhodes attempted to confirm the story by pointing to a temporary decree the Athenians passed:
Neither
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
nor
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...
mention Myrto, and not everyone in ancient times believed the story: according to Athenaeus,
Panaetius
Panaetius (; grc-gre, Παναίτιος, Panaítios; – ) of Rhodes was an ancient Greek Stoic philosopher. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus in Athens, before moving to Rome where he did much to introduce Stoic do ...
"refuted those who talk about the wives of Socrates."
Notes
Further reading
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{{Authority control
5th-century BC Athenians
Ancient Athenian women
Family of Socrates
5th-century BC Greek women