Relatives of Socrates - Xanthippe, Sophroniscus, Phaenarete, Menexenus, Lamprocles (Paperback)

Chapters: Xanthippe, Sophroniscus, Phaenarete, Menexenus, Lamprocles. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 20. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Xanthippe (Greek: ) was the wife of Socrates and mother of their three sons Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. There are far more stories about her than there are facts. She was likely much younger than the philosopher, perhaps by as much as forty years. Xanthippe means "blonde horse," from the Greek "xanthos" (blonde) and "hippos" (horse). Hers is one of many Greek personal names with a horse theme (cf. Philippos: "horse lover"; Hippocrates: "horse tamer" etc). The "hippos" in an ancient Greek name often suggested aristocratic heritage. One additional reason for thinking Xanthippe's family was socially prominent was that her eldest son was named Lamprocles instead of "Sophroniscus" (after Socrates' father). The ancient Greek custom was to name one's first child after the more illustrious of the two grandfathers. Xanthippe's father is believed to have been named Lamprocles. Since he was even more well-established in Athenian aristocracy than was Socrates' father, his name would have been the preferred choice for the name of the first-born son. Plato's portrayal of Xanthippe (in his Phaedo) suggests that she was nothing less than a devoted wife and mother (60a-b, 116b; she is mentioned nowhere else in Plato). Xenophon, in his Memorabilia, portrays her in much the same light, though he does make Lamprocles complain of her harshness (2.2.7-9); it could be argued that this is fairly typical of an adolescent's views of a strict parent. It is only in Xenophon's Symposium where we have Socrates agree that she is (in Antisthenes' words) "the hardest to get along with of all the women there are" (2.10). Nevertheless, Socrates adds that he chose her...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=1758