Socrates. A Greek philosopher.

 Socrates. A Greek philosopher. An enigmatic genius. A genius who gave a whole new norm to Western philosophy. The standards set by, his critical reasoning, and his view on life and surroundings made him an admirable inspiration to many who came across his teachings. Also, they had accusers who eventually put him to trial and execution.

Socrates was born circa 470 BC in Athens, Greece. His father was a stone mason and sculptor, and his mother was a midwife. Being an ordinary Athenian, he received a basic Greek education. He worked as a stone mason for many years before he dedicated his life to philosophy. He was married and had three children, none of whom he cared much of. The rest of my life was spent teaching young boys about their intellectual development and their lives. He believed in authentic knowledge, rather than only victory over his rival.

He was famous for questioning everything in life and the world. He would accept no vague answers, rather, he would ask only for an appropriate account of the nature of the problem. Socrates lived an impoverished life. Despite being such a significant figure in philosophy, he never left a word about himself. Socrates lived an impoverished life. Despite being such a significant figure in philosophy, he never left a word about himself. Whatever we get to know about him, it was all second-hand. Most of them are from the dialogues of Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of Aristophanes. The dialogues from Plato's account have to be fairly accurate because the latter himself was a philosopher and had a tendency to include his own theories in dialogues.

Socrates was 70 years old when his trial and execution took place. This was in 399 BC. The trial happened because according to his accusers, Socrates was "refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state", and "corrupting the youth". Because he had an anti-democratic point of view. Because his haters thought Socrates was introducing the youths to new gods. He had three hours to present his case and to defend himself, instead, he presented philosophical ideas which the 500 members of the jury refused to understand. He was also given the option to get exiled from Athens. But he declined the offer.