socrates test / 5th cent. bc

Herodotus

"Father of History"; wrote The Histories about Persian Wars. First historian to investigate human motives, cultural differences, and geography; blends fact with narrative and moral lessons.

Darius

Persian king who started the first invasion of Greece after Athens helped the Ionian Revolt. Seeks to punish Athens for interfering in Persian affairs.

Xerxes

Son of Darius; leads massive 2nd invasion (~480 BC) with bridge at Hellespont and a huge army. Defeated at Salamis.

Battle of Marathon (490 BC)

Athenians defeat Persians despite being outnumbered. Pheidippides —to Sparta to request aid (Spartans delayed due to religious festival). Demonstrates citizen-soldier courage; boosts Athenian confidence.

Themistocles

Non-aristocratic politician and general; rises via democratic persuasion. Uses Laurion silver to build 200 triremes for Athenian navy; rhetoric frames threat as local (Aegina) to avoid alarming citizens about Persia. Tricks Persians at Salamis (says athenians are retreating/evacuating); interprets 2nd Oracle of Delphi as ships, not literal walls.

Oracle of Delphi

1st prophecy: Athens doomed.;2nd prophecy: salvation in "wooden walls" and divine protection at Salamis. (--> Themistocles plan & victory)

Battle of Salamis (480 BC)

Naval battle near the island of (name). Greeks lure Persian navy into narrow straits → defeat due to maneuverability and strategy. Turning point of Persian Wars; Athens emerges as naval power.

Thucydides

Historian of Peloponnesian War; emphasizes evidence and human motivations. Records Pericles' Funeral Oration, analyzing Athenian democracy.

Peloponnesian war: Athens vs. Sparta

Athens: naval empire, democracy, Delian League leadership

Sparta: land-based army, oligarchy. War driven by fear of Athenian power.

Mytilene Debate

(name) revolts; Cleon wants all men executed; Diodotus argues for practical clemency → narrowly spared. Shows tension between emotion, rhetoric, and reason in democracy.

Alcibiades

Athenian general and statesman; ambitious and reckless. Pushes for Sicilian Expedition; accused of mutilating statues of Eleusinian Mysteries. Defects to Sparta → Persia → Athens, reflecting instability of leadership.

Sicilian Expedition / Battle of Syracuse (415-413 BC)

Athens invades (city) to expand influence, secure resources, and assert power. (name), aided by Sparta, defeats Athens (Alcibiades flees leaving Nicias in command- hesistant); fleet destroyed, thousands killed/enslaved. Shows danger of demagogues and overreaching ambition.

Arginusae (406 BC)

Athenian naval victory. Victory did more harm than good. Generals executed for failing to recover the dead → political instability. (relates to poor trial - simple vote in assembly of citizens, not by sworn jury, voted on collectively, not individually)

Lysander

Spartan commander funded by Persia. Learns tactics from Athens. Cuts Athenian grain supply; wins Peloponnesian War. works with Critias to est. Thirty Tyrants oligarchy.

Critias

Leader of the Thirty Tyrants, former pupil of Socrates. Ruthless oligarch; intensifies hostility toward Socrates.

Charmides

Ally of Critias; appears in Plato's (his name) dialogue. Explores temperance and self-control.

Socratic Problem

Difficult to know Socrates directly because he wrote nothing. Sources: Plato, Xenophon, Aristophanes (comic critique).;Plato : used Socrates voice to promote his own philosphy;Xenophon : Could not reproduce the power of Socrates mind;Aristophanes : confused Socrates with the Sophists, comedic critique

Meletus

Chief accuser; charges impiety and corrupting youth.

Athens recovering from war, plague, and tyranny. Socrates exposes ignorance, questions authority.

Reasons for Hostility (399 BC)

Socratic Method

Probing questions reveal contradictions; encourages self-reflection.

Crito

JUSTICE. Socrates refuses escape from prison; breaking laws = injustice.

Euthyphro/Euthyphro Dilemma

PIETY;Is something pious because gods love it, or do gods love it because it is pious?;- met socrates before socrates trial

Apology

Socrates defends himself at trial; values truth over popularity.

Phaedo

Socrates' last hours; defends immortality of the soul.

Gorgias

Rhetoric vs. philosophy; persuasive speech without justice = morally empty.;- Rhetoric is not a techne

Republic

Thrasymachus: might makes right; Socrates: justice = absolute, tied to virtue and the soul.

Theory of Forms

Eternal, unchanging truths.

Allegory of the Cave

Most people see only shadows; philosophers seek reality.

Sophistry

teach rhetoric for pay; emphasize persuasion over truth. RELATIVISTS/SKEPTICS

Problem of the One and the Many

Philosophical puzzle: how can many changing things come from one ultimate reality?

Medea (Euripides)

Tragedy of (name), Jason, Glauce, Creon; themes: revenge, passion vs. reason, betrayal, women's power.

Eleusinian Mysteries

Secret initiation rituals for Demeter & Persephone; promised blessed afterlife.

The Death of Socrates — Jacques-Louis David (1787)

Neoclassical painting of Socrates "calmly" accepting death. - other around him upset

The School of Athens — Raphael (1509-1511)

Fresco depicting philosophers in a grand hall.

Parthenon

Temple built under Pericles

Phidias

Sculptor of Athena statue in Parthenon; exemplifies classical idealism.

Pericles' Funeral Oration

Praises Athenian democracy: equality before law = equal opportunity

Socrates' Understanding of Justice

Justice = absolute, rooted in virtue, independent of opinion.

Unexamined Life

Life without reflection, pursuit of virtue, or seeking truth is meaningless. - socrates saw practicing pholisophy as his moral duty - rather die than not

Plato's Theory of Truth / Forms

Truth exists in eternal Forms; the sensible world is imperfect reflection.

Entasis

subtle swelling of columns to correct optical illusion.

ictinus

architect of the parthenon

phidias

organizer of the parthenon