Crito of Alopece
Encyclopedia
Crito of Alopece was a faithful, probably lifelong companion of Socrates
. The two had evidently grown up together as friends, being from the same deme
and of roughly the same age (Plato, Apology
33d-e). Plato
portrays Crito as present at the trial and execution of Socrates, attending to the familial and practical matters having to do with the philosopher's death (Phaedo
60a, 63d-e, 115b-117a, 118a); so Crito survived Socrates, but for how long, we do not know. According to Plato, in addition to offering to help pay a proposed fine at Socrates' sentencing (Apology 38b), Crito swore before Socrates' judges that the philosopher would remain in prison until the execution rather than attempt to flee Athens (Phaedo 115d), even though he is portrayed in the dialogue named after him as urging Socrates, for the sake of his friends and family, to allow Crito and the Thebians Simmias
and Cebes
and others to bribe the prison guards so that Socrates might flee to Thessaly
, where he could seek asylum with friends of Crito's who lived there (Crito
44b-46a). Crito appears to have been a wealthy businessman (Plato Euthydemus
304c) who evidently made his money from running a successful farm (Euthydemus 291e; Xenophon
Memorabilia
2.9.2-4). Crito seems to have married a woman with impressive aristocratic pedigree (Euthydemus 306e), though we do not know her name.
4.24 and see below). The overall impression, given the scant evidence, is that Crito was for the most part a fairly typical upperclass Athenian of fairly typical Athenian sentiments who devoted most of his attention to business and other practical affairs and who just happened to be a devoted friend - rather than a follower - of one of history's most famous philosophers. Neither Plato nor Xenophon - our earliest and best sources - give us any good reason to believe later accounts according to which Crito wrote Socratic dialogues. If he did, none of them survive and none are quoted by later writers of whom we know. (The earliest of such accounts is Diogenes Laertius
Lives
2.121; Diogenes is often unreliable, especially when he does not cite a source.) [citation?]
Crito is described in Plato’s Dialogues (Crito) as the associate that attempts to convince Socrates to escape from jail, arguing on both on logical and emotional grounds that Socrates’ decision to remain in jail, despite his ability to leave, will only cause harm to Socrates and those close to him. During Socrates last hours of life, Crito serves as a sort valet to Socrates’ final needs and is the last individual to whom Socrates speaks (he asks Crito to offer a sacrifice to the Greek god Asclepius
). After Socrates death, it is Crito that attends to Socrates’ body, closing Socrates’ eyes and mouth.
" (Memorabilia 1.3.8-10; cf. his Symposium 4.23-26). In Xenophon's Memorabilia 2.6, there is a conversation on friendship between Socrates and Critobulus. In the Telauges of Aeschines Socraticus
, Socrates appears to have criticized Critobulus for his ignorance and ostentatiousness, though only fragments of the dialogue survive.
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
. The two had evidently grown up together as friends, being from the same deme
Deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or demos was a subdivision of Attica, the region of Greece surrounding Athens. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, but did not acquire particular significance until the reforms of Cleisthenes in...
and of roughly the same age (Plato, Apology
Apology (Plato)
The Apology of Socrates is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he unsuccessfully defended himself in 399 BC against the charges of "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel"...
33d-e). Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
portrays Crito as present at the trial and execution of Socrates, attending to the familial and practical matters having to do with the philosopher's death (Phaedo
Phaedo
Plato's Phaedo is one of the great dialogues of his middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium. The Phaedo, which depicts the death of Socrates, is also Plato's seventh and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days .In the dialogue, Socrates...
60a, 63d-e, 115b-117a, 118a); so Crito survived Socrates, but for how long, we do not know. According to Plato, in addition to offering to help pay a proposed fine at Socrates' sentencing (Apology 38b), Crito swore before Socrates' judges that the philosopher would remain in prison until the execution rather than attempt to flee Athens (Phaedo 115d), even though he is portrayed in the dialogue named after him as urging Socrates, for the sake of his friends and family, to allow Crito and the Thebians Simmias
Simmias of Thebes
Simmias of Thebes was a disciple of Socrates, and a friend of Cebes. In his Memorabilia, Xenophon includes him in the inner circle of Socrates' followers...
and Cebes
Cebes
Cebes of Thebes was a disciple of Socrates in the late 5th-century BCE. One work, known as the Pinax or Tabula, attributed to Cebes still survives, but it is believed to be a composition by an anonymous author of the 1st or 2nd century....
and others to bribe the prison guards so that Socrates might flee to Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, where he could seek asylum with friends of Crito's who lived there (Crito
Crito
Crito is a short but important dialogue by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It is a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito regarding justice , injustice , and the appropriate response to injustice. Socrates thinks that injustice may not be answered with injustice, and...
44b-46a). Crito appears to have been a wealthy businessman (Plato Euthydemus
Euthydemus (dialogue)
Euthydemus , written 380 BCE, is dialogue by Plato which satirizes what Plato presents as the logical fallacies of the Sophists. It describes a visit paid by Socrates and various youths to two brothers, Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, both of whom are prominent Sophists...
304c) who evidently made his money from running a successful farm (Euthydemus 291e; Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
Memorabilia
Memorabilia (Xenophon)
Memorabilia is a collection of Socratic dialogues by Xenophon, a student of Socrates...
2.9.2-4). Crito seems to have married a woman with impressive aristocratic pedigree (Euthydemus 306e), though we do not know her name.
Disciple or merely a friend?
Though Xenophon counts Crito in the small circle of genuine associates of Socrates (Memorabilia 1.2.48), neither Xenophon nor Plato portrays Crito as very philosophically inclined. The dialogue Crito makes it clear that he has participated in more than one philosophical conversation with Socrates (see 49a, 49b, 49e); but he is depicted in that dialogue, as well as in the Phaedo, as surprisingly forgetful and/or inattentive of fundamental Socratic tenets, and his concerns in the Phaedo are entirely practical in contrast to those of some of Socrates' other friends who are eager to share the philosopher's last hours in deep philosophical debate; also, in Plato's Euthydemus, Crito replies with an emphatic, "No, by Zeus!", to the question of whether he pays attention to the talk of "these wise men", among whom Socrates is the most prominent (304d). He is even portrayed in the Euthydemus as reluctant to provide his sons with an education in philosophy (306e-307a), even though he appears at the dialogue's end to be convinced that it would be "unjust" to not turn over his sons to any philosopher (307b); perhaps we are given to believe that Crito at least urged his sons to follow Socrates (cf. Xenophon SymposiumSymposium (Xenophon)
Xenophon's Symposium records the discussion of Socratesand company at a dinner given by Callias for Autolycus, son of Lycon. Xenophon's Symposium (Συμπόσιον) records the discussion of Socratesand company at a dinner given by Callias for Autolycus, son of Lycon. Xenophon's Symposium (Συμπόσιον)...
4.24 and see below). The overall impression, given the scant evidence, is that Crito was for the most part a fairly typical upperclass Athenian of fairly typical Athenian sentiments who devoted most of his attention to business and other practical affairs and who just happened to be a devoted friend - rather than a follower - of one of history's most famous philosophers. Neither Plato nor Xenophon - our earliest and best sources - give us any good reason to believe later accounts according to which Crito wrote Socratic dialogues. If he did, none of them survive and none are quoted by later writers of whom we know. (The earliest of such accounts is Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laertius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is known about his life, but his surviving Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is one of the principal surviving sources for the history of Greek philosophy.-Life:Nothing is definitively known about his life...
Lives
Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is a biography of the Greek philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius, written in Greek, perhaps in the first half of the third century AD.-Overview:...
2.121; Diogenes is often unreliable, especially when he does not cite a source.) [citation?]
Crito is described in Plato’s Dialogues (Crito) as the associate that attempts to convince Socrates to escape from jail, arguing on both on logical and emotional grounds that Socrates’ decision to remain in jail, despite his ability to leave, will only cause harm to Socrates and those close to him. During Socrates last hours of life, Crito serves as a sort valet to Socrates’ final needs and is the last individual to whom Socrates speaks (he asks Crito to offer a sacrifice to the Greek god Asclepius
Asclepius
Asclepius is the God of Medicine and Healing in ancient Greek religion. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters are Hygieia , Iaso , Aceso , Aglæa/Ægle , and Panacea...
). After Socrates death, it is Crito that attends to Socrates’ body, closing Socrates’ eyes and mouth.
Critobulus
Crito had some number of sons; we do not know how many, possibly only two (Euthydemus 306d). Among them was Critobulus (Κριτόβουλος), the eldest, who was one of Socrates' young followers, roughly Plato's age (Apology 33c-34a). Critobulus was old enough to offer - along with his father, Plato, and Apollodorus - to help Socrates pay if the court chose to fine Socrates (Apology 38b). Critobulus was also present at Socrates' execution (Phaedo 59b), though he does not speak in the dialogue. Xenophon depicts Socrates as chastising the supposedly otherwise moderate Critobulus for kissing "the beautiful son of AlcibiadesAlcibiades
Alcibiades, son of Clinias, from the deme of Scambonidae , was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War...
" (Memorabilia 1.3.8-10; cf. his Symposium 4.23-26). In Xenophon's Memorabilia 2.6, there is a conversation on friendship between Socrates and Critobulus. In the Telauges of Aeschines Socraticus
Aeschines Socraticus
Aeschines of Sphettus or Aeschines Socraticus , son of Lysanias, of the deme Sphettus of Athens was in his youth a follower of Socrates. Historians call him Aeschines Socraticus—"the Socratic Aeschines"—to distinguish him from the more historically influential Athenian orator also named...
, Socrates appears to have criticized Critobulus for his ignorance and ostentatiousness, though only fragments of the dialogue survive.