''Socrates'' () is a 1759 French play in three acts written by

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

. It is set in

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

during the events just before the trial and death of 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 ...

. It is heavy with satire specifically at government authority and organized religion. The main characters besides the title role is that of the priest Anitus, his entourage, Socrates' wife Xantippe, several judges, and some children Socrates has adopted as his own. Like more historical accounts by

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

, and

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

, the playwright shows Socrates as a moral individual charged with baseless accusations by a conspiracy of corrupt

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

or Athenian officials although Voltaire implies that the wrongdoers are a select few. Unlike the historical account, Socrates deals with several judges, whereas his real life counterpart receives his punishment of death by hemlock by a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

of 500 Athenians. The presence or mention of Socrates' best-known students such as

, Antisthenes, Aristippus, and others are replaced by unnamed disciples, delivering only a few token lines at the end of the play. Socrates is also portrayed as a monotheist and a victim of religious persecution, an interpretation that is not generally shared by modern scholars and historians. Generally, this is not the most well-known of his works in comparison with '' Letters on the English'' which Voltaire published in 1734 or the '' Dictionnaire philosophique'' published earlier in 1764. However, hints of his contempt for government and religion are apparent here which later influenced the leaders of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

and the French Revolution.

Characters

The play calls for the following characters. English versions of their names sometimes vary slightly. *

() * Anitus — High Priest of Ceres * Melitus () — an Athenian judge * Xantippe — Socrates' wife * Aglae () — young Athenian girl raised by Socrates * Sophronimus () — young Athenian boy raised by Socrates * Drixa — merchant, friend to Anitus * Terpander () — friend to Anitus * Acros — friend to Anitus * Judges * Disciples of Socrates * Nonoti, Chomos, Bertios — three pedants protected by Anitus The characters Nonoti, Chomos, and Bertios were added in 1761. During Voltaire's lifetime, their names were published as , , and , translated as Graphius, Chomus, and Bertillus; their names were first changed in the 1784 Kehl edition. The names Nonoti, Chomos, and Bertios are meant to be reminiscent of Voltaire's enemies Claude-Adrien Nonnotte, and Guillaume-François Berthier.; ; .

References

External links

* {{Socrates navbox 1759 plays Plays by Voltaire Biographical plays about philosophers Cultural depictions of Socrates Plays based on actual events Plays set in ancient Greece Satirical plays Plays set in Athens

Characters

References

Further reading

Editions

French

English

External links