Notes and Comments on Phaedo -- 3

31 May 2023

Notes and Comments on Phaedo – 3

In case someone reading this has not seen the previous posts on Phaedo, I am posting a series of notes and comments on this dialogue, quoting brief sections for each post.  The translation I am using is by Harold North Fowler, Loeb Classical Library.

Echecrates:  What took place at his death, Phaedo?  What was said and done?  And which of his friends were with him?  Or did the authorities forbid them to be present, so that he died without his friends?

Phaedo:  Not at all.  Some were there, in fact, a good many.

Echecrates:  Be so good as to tell us as exactly as you can about all these things, if you are not too busy.

Phaedo:  I am not busy and I will try to tell you.  It is always my greatest pleasure to be reminded of Socrates whether by speaking of him myself or by listening to someone else.

Echecrates:  Well, Phaedo, you will have hearers who feel as you do; so try to tell us everything as accurately as you can.

Phaedo:  For my part, I had strange emotions when I was there.  For I was not filled with pity as I might naturally be when present at the death of a friend; since he seemed to me to be happy, both in his bearing and his words, he was meeting death so fearlessly and nobly.  And so I thought that even in going to the abode of the dead he was not going without the protection of the gods, and that when he arrived there it would be well with him, if it ever was well with anyone.  And for this reason I was not at all filled with pity, as might seem natural when I was present at a scene of mourning; nor on the other hand did I feel pleasure because we were occupied with philosophy, as was our custom – and our talk was of philosophy; -- but a very strange feeling came over me, an unaccustomed mixture of pleasure and of pain together, when I thought that Socrates was presently to die.  And all of us who were there were in much the same condition, sometimes laughing and sometimes weeping; especially one of us, Apollodorus; you know him and his character.

Echerates:  To be sure I do.

Phaedo:  He was quite unrestrained, and I was much agitated myself, as were the others.

Echecrates:  Who were these, Phaedo?

Phaedo:  Of native Athenians there was this Apollodorus, and Critobulus and his father, and Hermogenes and Epiganes and Aeschines and Antisthenes; and Ctesippus and Paeanian was there too, and Menexenus and some other Athenians.  But Plato, I think, was ill.

Echecrates:  Were any foreigners there?

Phaedo:  Yes, Simmias of Thebes and Cebes and Phaedonides, and from Megara Euclides and Terpsion.

Echecrates:  What?  Were Aristippus and Cleombrotus there?

Phaedo:  No.  They were said to be in Aegina.

Echecrates:  Was anyone else there?

Phaedo:  I think these were about all.

(Ibid, pages 203 - 207)

1.  This part is a combination of stage setting and a listing of the cast of characters.  It is interesting that not everyone who appears in Phaedo is listed; for example, the jailer is not included, and neither is Xantippe, the wife of Socrates who puts in a brief appearance holding one of their sons.  Notice also that Phaedo uses what appears to me to be tentative language when he says at the end that “I think these were about all.”  So there may have been more in attendance. 

2.  Apollodorus was from the Athenian port city Phaleron and was financially successful.  Apollodorus also appears in the Symposium where he states that he is the same age as Plato’s brother, Glaucon.  Apollodorus and his brother, Aiantodorus, became followers of Socrates.  Along with the Symposium Apollodorus appears in the Apology.  Apollodorus also appears in Xenophon’s Apology and Memorabilia.

Critobulus was the son of Crito who I’ll remark on separately.  Critobulus appears as a young boy in the dialogue Euthydemus.  He also appears in the Oeconomicus of Xenophon.  According to what I was able to find, Critobulus was considered by some to be licentious and extravagant, but I was not able to track down the reasons for that evaluation.  In Plato’s dialogue there is no indication that anyone feels that way about him.

Crito (the father of Critobulus) urges Socrates to escape his death sentence in the dialogue Crito, but Socrates refuses for philosophical reasons.  Crito also appears in Euthydemus where Crito states he is about the same age as Socrates and from the same deme.  Crito also appears in the Apology.  Crito and Socrates appear to have had a close friendship.  For example, when Xantippe, the wife of Socrates, is in distress, Socrates turns to Crito for assistance.  And the very last words Socrates speaks are addressed to Crito when Socrates entrusts Crito with a final request: Socrates owes a cock to the god Asclepius and asks Crito to make good on this duty.  Crito responds that it shall be done.

Hermogenes also appears in the dialogue Cratylus.

Epigenes also appears in the Apology, as does Aeschines.

Antisthenes appears only in Phaedo.

Ctesippus appears in Lysis and Euthydemus.  He was also a friend of Menexenus.

Menexenus in the dialogue named for him, Menexenus.  Some of the issues raised in the dialogue Menexenus are also discussed in Phaedo.

Simmias, from the city of Thebes, has a major part in Phaedo, participating in many of the discussions, along with Cebes.  Simmias also appears in Crito and is mentioned in Phaedrus.

Cebes, also from Thebes, is, as mentioned above, a major participant in Phaedo.  He also appears in Crito.

It is a varied gathering; what they all have in common is their love of Socrates.  Their personalities, as well as their strengths and weaknesses vary, but they all share in their devotion to Socrates and to Philosophy.

3.  It’s interesting that the people mentioned are divided between Athenians and non-Athenians.  It is the Thebans, Simmias and Cebes, who are most involved with disputation with Socrates in the dialogue.  There are other participants, for sure, but I don’t think it is without meaning that these two Thebans play major roles.  Cebes also studied with Philolaus, a Pythagorean.  This, once again, emphasizes the Pythagorean connection to Socrates and, I believe, to Platonism.  The first person mentioned in Phaedo, Echecrates, was a Pythagorean and Cebes, a prominent participant in Phaedo is as well.

4.  “But Plato, I think, was ill.”  The absence of Plato is poignant.  This absence invites speculation, but these speculations cannot rise to the level of explanations.  It may be, as many suggest, that Plato really was ill.  If Plato was ill it must have been a serious illness to keep him from Socrates during the last days of his earthly life. 

It is possible that ‘illness’ here means overcome with grief, or heartbroken. Already we see some very emotional responses to the situation with Apollodorus and Phaedo himself speaks eloquently of the complex, and intense, emotions that he was feeling.

There is an interesting, and recent, presentation as to why Plato was not present by Guy Wyndham-Jones.  Wyndham-Jones wrote a dialogue, which he calls The Platon, between Socrates and Plato.  In this dialogue Socrates sends Plato away due to his agitation over the upcoming death of Socrates.  Though this is speculation, I am reminded of how Plotinus sent Porphyry, who was suffering from depression, away to recover in a location that Plotinus considered helpful for Porphyry’s condition.  This was why Porphyry was not present at the death of Plotinus. 

5.  All of this is preliminary material, yet highly relevant at many levels.  Soon Phaedo will begin to relate the conversation that took place among those gathered.