After the execution of Socrates in 399 BC, a number of his followers wrote dialogues featuring him as the protagonist and, in so doing, transformed the great philosopher into a legendary figure. Xenophon's portrait is the only one other than Plato's to survive, and while it offers a very personal interpretation of Socratic thought, it also reveals much about the man and his philosophical views. In 'Socrates' Defence' Xenophon defends his mentor against charges of arrogance made at his trial, while the 'Memoirs of Socrates' also starts with an impassioned plea for the rehabilitation of a wronged reputation. Along with 'The Estate-Manager', a practical economic treatise, and 'The Dinner-Party', a sparkling exploration of love, Xenophon's dialogues offer fascinating insights into the Socratic world and into the intellectual atmosphere and daily life of ancient Greece.
Conversations of Socrates (Classics)
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Xenophon was born c.430BC, an Athenian gentleman. Whilst fighting for Greece, he was finally banished due to his devotion to Socrates and support for Sparta. Settling near Olympia under Spartan protection, he began to write his treatises, histories and biographies.
Hugh Tredinnick was Professor of Classics at Royal Holloway College from 1946 - 1966. he has translated works by Aristotle. He dies in 1982.
Robin Waterfield is a self-employed writer with publications ranging from academic articles to children's fiction. He has tranlsated various Greek texts for Penguin.
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I think it is worth recording what Socrates thought about his defence and the end of his life, once he had been summoned for trial. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
I think it is worth recording what Socrates thought about his defence and the end of his life, once he had been summoned for trial. Read the first page
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was not bad at all. I read it for The Dinner-party and the Estate Manager but I also read Socrates's Defense. I'll be brief. The edition is excellent, the translations are clear and the notes are not only good and full but also conviniently at the bottom of the page, rather than stuck out at the back where only someone who wants to competely ruin the flow of their reading will refer to them. The Xenophon itself is, however, a bit of a struggle at times, hence why I could not finish The Memoirs of Socrates. Nevertheless, if one perseverse it is worth the effort, both from a historical perspective, as Dinner-party and Manager are two extremely important sources on Ancient Greek life, and a philosophical perspective. The latter point may not rock one's world but it does encourage thought, especially Manager. All in all, pretty good material wrapped up in an excellent edition.
Format:Paperback
The volume which Penguin presents as `Conversations with Socrates' contains all four works by Xenophon about Socrates: Socrates' Defence; Memoirs of Socrates; The Dinner Party; and The Estate Manager. All but the first, a brief, 9-page account of the philosopher's trial and execution, are - as the title of the book indicates - written as dialogues in which Socrates engages a variety of fellow Athenians in conversation about the nature of love, true goodness, good estate management, etc.
Socratic dialogues were en vogue in 5th century BCE Greece, but those written by Xenophon are the only ones beside Plato's to survive. This alone makes them worth reading for anyone with an interest in the philosopher whose influence on western thought is so great that he is "arguably one of the most important people in the history of mankind," Robin Waterfield writes in his introduction.
Having said that, the Socrates presented by Xenophon is relatively bland in comparison with the subtle thinker of Plato's dialogues, so that many scholars see him more as a mouthpiece for Xenophontic thinking than of Socratic philosophy. At the end of the day we will never know for sure, and the excellent introductions by Waterfield to each of the works argue persuasively that it is quite possible for both the Platonic and the Xenophontic Socrates to be the genuine article. They may be different, but they are not mutually exclusive.
The translations are all very readable, and the introductions and notes provide very valuable and succinct context for the layman like myself with an interest in the Classical world but no academic track record in this field.
Socratic dialogues were en vogue in 5th century BCE Greece, but those written by Xenophon are the only ones beside Plato's to survive. This alone makes them worth reading for anyone with an interest in the philosopher whose influence on western thought is so great that he is "arguably one of the most important people in the history of mankind," Robin Waterfield writes in his introduction.
Having said that, the Socrates presented by Xenophon is relatively bland in comparison with the subtle thinker of Plato's dialogues, so that many scholars see him more as a mouthpiece for Xenophontic thinking than of Socratic philosophy. At the end of the day we will never know for sure, and the excellent introductions by Waterfield to each of the works argue persuasively that it is quite possible for both the Platonic and the Xenophontic Socrates to be the genuine article. They may be different, but they are not mutually exclusive.
The translations are all very readable, and the introductions and notes provide very valuable and succinct context for the layman like myself with an interest in the Classical world but no academic track record in this field.
15 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By Luc REYNAERT
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Nearly all those who studied Greek in high school were given a much distorted image of the Athenian (and certainly of the pedophilic Spartan) society. Who told us that the wealth of Athens was based on silver mines (the university city of Ioanina is still one of the world's biggest centers of the silver industry)? And who told us why Socrates was forced to commit suicide?
One can find the answers on many questions about Greek society in Xenophon's works, the clever writer of `Hellenika' (`All Persians are educated to become a slave, except one').
In his works about Socrates, Xenophon brushes a lively picture of the `real' Socrates and explains clearly his political views: 'Where offices were filled by men who satisfied the legal requirements, he considered the constitution to be an aristocracy; where they were filled in accordance with a property qualification, a plutocracy; where they were filled by anybody, a democracy.'
Socrates was an anti-democrat and defended oligarchy is his teachings.
What oligarchy really meant for the majority of the Athenians, one can also read in `Hellenika'. Describing the reign of the Thirty (comprising two uncles of Plato), Xenophon states: `The oligarchs went on a killing spree murdering all democratic opponents, more Athenians than all the Peloponnesians did in ten years of war ... when people could vote, it was in full view.'
Xenophon explains one of the main reasons for oligarchic rule in his rhetoric question: `if people uses its superior power to enact measures against the propertied classes, will that be violence rather than law?'
Socrates was a moderate anti-democrat, not as his pupil Plato who fulminated relentlessly against the democratic beast (Gerard Koolschijn). He respected the law: `He disobeyed the illegal orders of the Thirty on the ground that what he was ordered to do was illegal.'
He also was a moderate in his personal life (`to need nothing is divine').
Xenophon's works are key texts for understanding the ancient Greek society (daily life, morals, social issues, drink-parties, sex, politics). They are a must read for all those interested in human history and for all lovers of classical texts.
One can find the answers on many questions about Greek society in Xenophon's works, the clever writer of `Hellenika' (`All Persians are educated to become a slave, except one').
In his works about Socrates, Xenophon brushes a lively picture of the `real' Socrates and explains clearly his political views: 'Where offices were filled by men who satisfied the legal requirements, he considered the constitution to be an aristocracy; where they were filled in accordance with a property qualification, a plutocracy; where they were filled by anybody, a democracy.'
Socrates was an anti-democrat and defended oligarchy is his teachings.
What oligarchy really meant for the majority of the Athenians, one can also read in `Hellenika'. Describing the reign of the Thirty (comprising two uncles of Plato), Xenophon states: `The oligarchs went on a killing spree murdering all democratic opponents, more Athenians than all the Peloponnesians did in ten years of war ... when people could vote, it was in full view.'
Xenophon explains one of the main reasons for oligarchic rule in his rhetoric question: `if people uses its superior power to enact measures against the propertied classes, will that be violence rather than law?'
Socrates was a moderate anti-democrat, not as his pupil Plato who fulminated relentlessly against the democratic beast (Gerard Koolschijn). He respected the law: `He disobeyed the illegal orders of the Thirty on the ground that what he was ordered to do was illegal.'
He also was a moderate in his personal life (`to need nothing is divine').
Xenophon's works are key texts for understanding the ancient Greek society (daily life, morals, social issues, drink-parties, sex, politics). They are a must read for all those interested in human history and for all lovers of classical texts.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Translation and scholarship is fine, Xenophon is awful
xenophon isnt really a thinker or philosopher in any right. more like an old grandpa telling you to remember to brush your teeth and eat your greens. very trite.
Published on 25 Oct 2010 by asp
5.0 out of 5 stars
Against the government-clique of President Perikles ...
Perikles pushed Athens into risky power politics, those led into the Peloponnesi war (431-404 before Chr.). Read more
Published on 25 July 2005 by FrizzText
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