Memorabilia

A collection of memories of Socrates in four books by Xenophon, the Athenian soldier and writer who knew him in his youth. It begins as a defence against the charges brought at Socrates' trial, arguing that he honoured the gods and made his companions better rather than corrupting them. Most of the work is a series of short conversations. Socrates argues with the sceptic Aristodemus that the design of the human body shows divine care, and retells to the pleasure-loving Aristippus the story of Prodicus in which the young Heracles chooses between Virtue and Vice. He urges his son Lamprocles to show gratitude to a difficult mother, discusses the value of friends, deflates the young Glaucon's political ambitions, talks with painters and sculptors about showing character in art, and visits the courtesan Theodote. Throughout, the Socrates of Xenophon is a practical moral adviser who prizes self-control.

It is the main ancient portrait of Socrates outside Plato, and comparing the two shows how much of 'Socrates' depends on who is telling the story.