Phaenarete (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Φαιναρέτη, born ), wife of

Sophroniscus Sophroniscus (Greek: Σωφρονίσκος, ''Sophroniskos''), husband of Phaenarete, was the father of the philosopher Socrates. Occupation Little is known about Sophroniscus and his relationship with his son Socrates. According to tradition, ...

, was the mother of the Greek philosopher

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

and his half-brother, Patrocles. (Since Sophroniscus had died before 424 BC, he was probably Phaenarete's first husband, while Chaeredemus, father of Patrocles, was her second). Historian of philosophy Debra Nails puts Phaenarete's birthdate around 484 BC, as she must have been old enough to give birth to Socrates in 469 and yet young enough to give birth to Patrocles about 450. She was apparently alive at the time of the '' Euthydemus'', which was set in or after 407. The name Phaenarete means "She who brings virtue to light", and it is, according to A.E. Taylor, "suggestive of good family connexions", based on its appearance in the genealogy of the immortal Amphitheus in

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

' '' Acharnians''. Very little is known of the life of Phaenarete. In Plato's '' Theaetetus'', Socrates compares his own work as a philosopher with hers as a ''maia'' (

midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...

). According to John Burnet, the role of ''maia'' was "performed by women of good family"

Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

, s.v., "Socrates", 1919.

References

5th-century BC Greek people 5th-century BC Greek women Ancient Athenian women Family of Socrates Greek midwives {{AncientGreece-bio-stub