Socrates is known to be one of the greatest philosophers of all time. Also known as the "Athenian Gadfly " because he always upsets the status quo by posing novel questions. Socrates felt that the gods had put him in front of the Athenian people so that the citizens would not be asleep spiritually. At the age of seventeen, he was one of greek philosopher Archelaus favorite pupil. Pythia, The Oracle of Delphi crowned him to be the wisest man in Athens and wanted to prove the Oracle by finding men wiser than he was. He devoted his time to pursuit the truth and became one of the founders of the western philosophy. Socrates wanted to create moral standards in Athens, he once stated, "There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance. " he believed that even if you know a lot about something, do not act like you know everything because it can overshadow your wisdom.
There is not a lot of information known about Socrates because he did not know how to write or read. The only three sources of his much-unknown life were the dialogues of Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary, Aristophanes. Socrates was born in 469 BC in Athens. His father, Sophroniscus was an Athenian stonemason and sculptor. His mother's name was Phaenarete, a midwife. Some say Socrates took over the profession of stonemasonry from his father who cut stone for the Parthenon and became a master stonecutter to make living and other say that he devotes himself only to what he regards as the most important occupation, which is discussing philosophy. According to Plato, Socrates was involved with the military as a hoplite and said that he served in the Athenian army during three campaigns: at Potidaea, Amphipolis, and Delium. Socrates was a member of boule, which was a council of citizens to look out for daily matters of the city. He had taken the senatorial oath, and sworn as a member of that house to act in conformity with the laws and when was asked to bring nine generals for a trial, he couldn't provide for them because he followed his principles instead of the will of the people.
