Who Were the Followers of Socrates?

The Ten Socratics and their Influence on Later Philosophers

Socrates had many friends and followers. Not all of them went on to become famous philosophers in their own right. However, according to an ancient tradition, ten of them did. It’s a testimony to Socrates’ influence that despite neither leaving behind any philosophical writings himself nor founding a school, so many of his immediate followers went on to found their own distinct schools and to publish important philosophical dialogues.

For example, the 3rd century CE author, Diogenes Laertius, in his Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, wrote:

Of those who succeeded [Socrates] and were called Socratics the chief were Plato, Xenophon, Antisthenes, and of ten names on the traditional list the most distinguished are Aeschines, Phaedo, Euclides, Aristippus.

Diogenes Laertius doesn’t name the remaining three followers of Socrates who succeeded him by teaching philosophy themselves. However, they are often assumed to include Simon of Athens, the Shoemaker; Crito of Athens, Socrates’ lifelong friend; and Simmias of Thebes, a Pythagorean who featured in Plato’s Phaedo, along with his friend Cebes, both of whom were present at Socrates’ death.

• Socrates’ Three Main Followers

  • Antisthenes, a close friend of Socrates, and one of his oldest followers. Antisthenes was known for his austere lifestyle. He was the main precursor, and by some accounts even the founder, of the Cynic tradition. He continues to be cited by later authors, down to the time of Marcus Aurelius and beyond, but none of his writings survive today.

  • Xenophon of Athens, a younger student of Socrates, who became an Athenian general, and a famous author. Many of his dialogues and other writings survive today, including the Memorabilia Socratis and his famous historical account of a military campaign in Persia, called the Anabasis. Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, was reputedly inspired to become a philosopher after reading the second book of the Memorabilia, in which Xenophon depicts Socrates challenging the hedonistic philosophy of Aristippus.

  • Plato of Athens, one of the youngest students of Socrates, who nevertheless went on to become his most famous successor, and the founder of the Academic school. All thirty-seven of his Socratic dialogues survive today. Plato is generally believed to use Socrates as a mouthpiece for his own ideas, such as the Theory of Forms, from the writings of his middle period onward. The vexed question of how to separate the real Socrates from Plato’s “Socrates” is known by scholars as the Socratic Problem.

• Other Distinguished Followers

  • Aeschines of Sphettus, who wrote at least seven Socratic dialogues, all of which are lost except some important fragments from his Aspasia and Alcibiades.

  • Phaedo of Elis, a handsome young man who had been captured, enslaved, and forced to work in a brothel, until Socrates persuaded his friends to buy Phaedo and set him free. He was present at Socrates’ death, which is depicted in Plato’s famous dialogues is named the Phaedo after him. He went on to found the Elian school of philosophy.

  • Euclides of Megara, founder of the once-influential Megarian school, which was known for its emphasis on austere ethics but also its sophisticated logic or dialectics. His most important successor, Stilpo, taught Zeno of Citium, and had an influence on early Stoicism.

  • Aristippus of Cyrene, the founder of the Cyrenaic school, and early hedonist philosophy, which seems quite at odds with the virtue ethic more-commonly associated with Socrates and his other followers. In the Memorabilia of Xenophon, Socrates is quite critical of Aristippus’ hedonism and looks more favourably on the austere ethic of Antisthenes.

• The Three Unnamed Followers

  • Simon of Athens, a shoemaker in whose shop, in the Agora, Socrates would often meet with his friends to discuss philosophy. Simon was reputedly the first person to write Socratic dialogues, although none of his works survive today. Socrates, and several of his friends, were known for going around barefoot, which makes the notion of them spending their time in a shoe shop appear like satire rather than historical fact. Remarkably, though, during excavations of the Agora, in the ruins of a shoe shop, along with nails used by a cobbler, a fragment of a kylix, or wine cup, was unearthed, which is actually inscribed with the name Simon.

  • Crito of Athens, was Socrates’ oldest friend. He came from the same suburb as Socrates, Alopece. Crito was a wealthy agriculturalist, and we’re told he was the one who removed Socrates from his family’s workshop, which may mean that he became a sort of patron, funding his philosophical studies. Crito was present at Socrates’ trial and execution. One of Plato’s most famous dialogues, the Crito, is named after him. His four sons were also followers of Socrates. Diogenes Laertius says he wrote 17 dialogues but none of them survive today.

  • Simmias of Thebes, along with his friend Cebes, were young Pythagorean philosophers, present at Socrates’ death, who feature prominently in Plato’s Phaedo. According to Diogenes Laertius, Simmias was the author of 23 dialogues, although none survive today. Cebes also wrote several philosophical dialogues. One famous text, known as The Tablet of Cebes, survives today, although most scholars believe that it is not authentic but was written in the 2nd century CE.