This essay examines the contrasting portrayals of Socrates offered by two of his most prominent literary contemporaries: his student Plato and the comic playwright Aristophanes. Drawing on Plato's Apology and The Republic alongside Aristophanes' The Clouds, the paper analyzes how Plato presents Socrates as a figure of philosophical integrity and rational inquiry, while Aristophanes satirizes him as a foolish, socially disruptive teacher. The essay also explores Plato's allegory of the Cave as an expression of his Theory of Forms, situating these differing portrayals within the broader context of Athenian politics, education, and the trial of Socrates.
The image of the Greek philosopher — a man who addressed issues both of cosmic significance and of political moment — is embodied in Socrates, a figure known largely through the writings of his students, such as Plato, and through the satire of Aristophanes. The images of Socrates presented by these two writers are quite different: Plato, the devoted student, reflects deep admiration for Socrates, while Aristophanes expresses a contrary view that is somewhat closer to the position taken by the accusers who brought Socrates to trial.
The political expression of rationalism is evident in Plato's Apology, in which Socrates delivers a speech to the court that is judging him. The speech depicts the conflict between the power of the state and the integrity of the individual. The court offers Socrates a way out if he recants his teachings, but he refuses. Socrates represents the primary social value of inquiry — the pursuit of philosophy and the examination of the meaning of life. He also stands for integrity: when a man inquires into the meaning of existence and develops a set of beliefs, he must live according to those beliefs.
Socrates states that the unexamined life is not worth living, and if he were to accept the court's right to judge his thoughts, he would lose his integrity entirely. He makes this clear as he explains why he refuses to be silent:
"For if I tell you that to do as you say would be a disobedience to the God, and therefore that I cannot hold my tongue, you will not believe that I am serious; and if I say again that daily to discourse about virtue, and of those other things about which you hear me examining myself and others, is the greatest good of man, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, you are still less likely to believe me" (Plato 111).
Two sets of charges are brought against Socrates, as he notes in his speech in The Apology. The first he calls the older or more ancient accusation, while the second he refers to as the contemporary accusation. Socrates dreads the older of the two the most because he has so many accusers that he cannot name them all, whereas for the second he can and does name the three or four men who have brought the charge against him.
The older charge holds that Socrates is an evil-doer — someone peculiar who does not fit in with the rest of Athenian society. Specifically, he is accused of looking into the things of this world and the next and of teaching his doctrines to others for payment. The second charge also holds that Socrates is an evil-doer, adding that he is a corrupter of youth, that he does not believe in the gods of Athens, and that he has substituted gods of his own. Socrates denies both sets of charges: "Not one of them is true. And if you have heard from anyone that I undertake to teach people and charge a fee for it, that is not true either" (Plato 24).
Socrates defends himself first on the grounds that the charges are false, and then on the grounds that they reveal a broader prejudice against him. The extent of this prejudice is illustrated by the fact that a character named Socrates appears in Clouds by Aristophanes. Socrates goes to some lengths to describe the play and the behavior of that character in order to show what public opinion of him has become. He acknowledges that Aristophanes may not have intended the play to be taken seriously, but it is clear that many people did exactly that.
"Socratic method and Theory of Forms explained"
"Comic portrayal of Socrates as foolish teacher"
What Aristophanes says of Socrates in The Clouds closely mirrors the charges recounted in The Apology. Aristophanes shows a young man corrupted by exposure to the teachings of Socrates — corrupted to the point that he turns on his own father and then uses logic to justify his actions. Aristophanes wrote the play some time before the trial of Socrates, and as noted, Socrates himself makes reference to it in The Apology, making clear that he was well aware of both the artistic criticism and the formal legal charges leveled against him.
Aristophanes presents the philosopher as a dotty old man rather than a serious thinker, while Plato believes deeply in the philosophical method of Socrates and uses it to express his own views on different aspects of philosophy. The image of Socrates that emerges from the Platonic dialogues is of a man of fierce integrity — one who would rather die than live dishonored, and who asks only that his friends allow him to live life as he sees fit. Plato's view is the view of a devoted follower, while Aristophanes' view is that of a social critic who sees no reason to hold back simply because his target is a philosopher.
Plato. The Trial and Death of Socrates. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett, 1975.
Rouse, W.H.D. (tr.). Great Dialogues of Plato. New York: Signet, 1984.
You’re 59% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 2 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.