Phaedo

Phaedo
Φαίδων
Text from a 3rd century BCE papyrus fragment containing the Phaedo
Also known as	On the Soul
Author(s)	Plato
Compiled by	Thrasyllus of Mendes
Language	Attic Greek
Date	4th century BCE
Provenance	Byzantine empire
Series	Plato's dialogues
Manuscript(s)	List
Principal manuscript(s)	Codex Oxoniensis Clarkianus 39
First printed edition	1513 by Aldus Manutius
Genre	Socratic dialogue
Subject	Immortality of the soul
Setting	Ancient Athens
Personages	Socrates, Simmias, Cebes of Thebes, Phaedo of Elis, Echecrates of Phlius
Text	Phaedo at Wikisource

Phaedo (/ˈfiːdoʊ/; Ancient Greek: Φαίδων, Phaidōn) is a dialogue written by Plato, in which Socrates discusses the immortality of the soul and the nature of the afterlife with his friends in the hours leading up to his death. Socrates explores various arguments for the soul's immortality with the Pythagorean philosophers Simmias and Cebes of Thebes in order to show that there is an afterlife in which the soul will dwell following death. The dialogue concludes with a mythological narrative of the descent into Tarturus and an account of Socrates' execution.

The dialogue is set in 399 BCE, in an Athenian prison, during the last hours prior to the death of Socrates. It is presented within a frame story by Phaedo of Elis, who is recounting the events to Echecrates, a Pythagorean philosopher.[1]

Speakers in the frame story:

• Phaedo of Elis: a follower of Socrates, a youth allegedly enslaved as a prisoner of war, whose freedom was purchased at Socrates' request. He later founded a school of philosophy.[2]
• Echecrates of Phlius: A Pythagorean philosopher about whom little else is known.[1]

Speakers in the main part of the dialogue:

• Socrates of Alopece: a philosopher in his 70s, sentenced to death by the Athenians for impiety.
• Simmias and Cebes of Thebes: followers of Socrates and students of the Pythagorean philosopher Philolaus of Croton. As relayed in the Crito, which takes place a day or two earlier, they had arranged a plan to help Socrates escape from prison and live in exile, which he had declined.[3]
• Crito of Alopece: a childhood friend of Socrates, who unsuccessfully attempts to convince him to escape from prison in the Crito. In the Phaedo, he takes responsibility for Socrates' body after his death and sacrifices a rooster to Asclepius on his behalf.[4]

Other people present:

• Xanthippe, wife of Socrates: early in the dialogue, she becomes distressed, and Socrates has her taken away. Plato's portrayal of her is generally sympathetic, unlike Xenophon and later biographers, who portray her as inter-personally difficult and unpleasant.[5]
• Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, Menexenus, sons of Socrates: aged roughly 17, 11, and 3 respectively.[6]
• Apollodorus of Phaleron: A follower of Socrates who is unable to stop weeping, he is frequently portrayed by others as flamboyant and manic.[7] He also appears in the Symposium, where he relates the narrative of the dialogue to a friend, and in the Apology, where he offers up funds to pay Socrates' fine.[7]
• Critobulus of Alopece, son of Crito
• Hermogenes of Alopece: a follower of Socrates. He is also one of the main speakers in Plato's Cratylus.[8]
• Epigenes, son of Antiphon: A follower of Socrates, about whom nothing else is known.[9]
• Aeschines of Sphettus: a Socratic philosopher who wrote dialogues, some fragments of which survive.[10]
• Antisthenes: a Socratic philosopher and student of Gorgias, he wrote philosophical dialogues and speeches, none of which have survived.[11] Later members of the Cynic school of philosophy saw him as their founder.[11]
• Ctesippus of Paeania: A follower of Socrates, about whom little is known outside his appearance in the Lysis and Euthydemus.[12]
• Menexenus, son of Demophon: A follower of Socrates, he is a speaker in the Lysis and in the Menexenus, which is named after him.[13]
• Phaedondas of Thebes: According to Xenophon,[14] Phaedondas was a member of Socrates' inner circle along with Crito, Simmias, and Cebes.[15] However, nothing else about him is known.[16]
• Euclid of Megara: a Socratic philosopher, founder of the Megarian school. He appears in the prologue of the Theaetetus.[17]
• Terpsion of Megara: A friend of Euclid, about whom little else is known. He also appears with Euclid in the Theaetetus prologue.[18]

A bust of Pythagoras, a philosopher from the 6th century BCE. Many of the doctrines discussed in the Phaedo on the immortality and reincarnation of the soul and the metaphysical nature of opposites are thought to derive from the ideas of his followers.

The Phaedo is Plato's fourth and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days, following Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito. According to the dialogues, Socrates has been imprisoned and sentenced to death by an Athenian jury for impiety.

Many of the key characters in the dialogue are associated with Pythagoreanism, a religious and philosophical doctrine that flourished early 5th century BCE, which taught the immortality and reincarnation of the soul after death. Simmias and Cebes are both stated in the dialogue to have studied under Philolaus of Croton,[19] one of the most prominent Pythagorean philosophers,[20] and Echecrates, who is hearing the dialogue from Phaedo, is a Pythagorean from Phlius, which was a stronghold of Pythagoreanism well into the 4th century BCE, when the dialogue is set.[1] Many of the topics that are discussed in the dialogue are thought to derive from the doctrines of Philolaus, including the discussion of suicide, the alternation of opposites, and the harmonic attunement of the soul.[21] Plato himself likely learned Pythagorean doctrines from his close friendship with Archytas of Tarentum, a philosopher and statesman from Magna Graecia who made contributions to mechanics, number theory, and acoustics.[22]

The Phaedo is one of the dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium.[23]