The Death of Socrates (Profiles in History)

"In this book Emily Wilson analyzes the enormous and enduring power the trial and death of Socrates has exerted over the Western imagination. Beginning with the accounts of contemporaries like Aristophanes, Xenophon, and, above all, Plato, the book offers a comprehensive look at the death of Socrates as both a historical event and a controversial cultural ideal. Wilson shows how Socrates' death - more than his character, actions, or philosophical beliefs - has played an essential role in his story. She considers literary, philosophical, and artistic works - by Cicero, Erasmus, Milton, Voltaire, Hegel, and Brecht, among others - that used the death of Socrates to discuss power, politics, religion, the life of the mind, and the good life."--Jacket.