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The social status of Socrates as inferred from his military service and other informations

• Τουλ, Χάρης Ιακ.

According to the testimonies of Plato and Aeschines, Socrates served in the athenian army as a heavy armoured man. Hence he had to belong to the third propertied class in Athens and was in any case not a pauper. Of course, the valorous feats of Socrates in his campaigns are part of the socratic legend. Obviously his social htatus must extend to his father Sophroniscos. Therefore, though he is called a mason or a sculptor, he probably never earned his l.velihood as a craftsman, but was the owner of the masonry. Likewise the demagogue Cleon, who was a tannery owner, was called abusively by his detractors a tanner. May be also the profession of midwifery of his mother Phenarete, was due to a pun of the philosopher as to the origin of his obstetrical technique in dialectics. From other informations we learn that Socrates owned a house and used his small capital as a money lender at interest. Evidently his half—brother Patrocles was well off, as is shown by his election as an overseer of the Panathenaic games. This office presupposes however the solvency of the elected. It seems that the rumour of Socrates' poverty was spread by his apologists, to refute the accusation of receiving fees from his disciples, as was done by his competitors the sophists.

• Languages and Literature

• Classical philology