Socrates
469-399 BC | Athens, Greece
The gadfly of Athens who stung the city into wakefulness. Socrates wrote nothing, yet his questions echo through millennia. He wandered the agora, cornering citizens with relentless inquiry, exposing the hollowness of assumed knowledge. His method was simple: ask what something truly is until all pretense crumbles. For this, Athens sentenced him to death. He drank the hemlock calmly, teaching even in his final hour that philosophy is preparation for dying well.
Works About Socrates
Socrates wrote nothing; his students preserved his teachings"The unexamined life is not worth living."
- The Apology
"I know that I know nothing."
- Plato's Apology
"To find yourself, think for yourself."
- Attributed
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."
- Attributed
"Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people."
- Attributed