Lampooned in 406 B.C.E. in a blistering Aristophanic satire,
Socrates was tried in 399 B.C.E. on a charge of corrupting the
youth, convicted by a jury of about five hundred of his peers, and
condemned to death. Glimpsed today through the extant writings of
his contemporaries and near-contemporaries, he remains for us as
compelling, enigmatic, and elusive a figure as Jesus or Buddha.
Although present-day (like ancient Greek) opinion on the real
Socrates diverges widely, six classic texts that any informed
judgment of him must take into account appear together, for the
first time, in this volume. Those of Plato and Xenophon appear in
new, previously unpublished translations that combine accuracy,
accessibility, and readability; that of Aristophanes' Clouds offers
these same qualities in an unbowdlerized translation that captures
brilliantly the bite of Aristophanes' wit. An Introduction to each
text and judicious footnotes provide crucial background information
and important cross-references.