Socrates and the love of youth .. Has Western philosophy started from his experience of love?

Imran Abdullah

The first great philosophers of Greece did not leave writings or autobiography, and the one who talks about them is what Plato and Xenophon, whom he knew as a philosopher of ethics and a renowned scholar of his Socratic doctrine and philosophical doctrine in war-torn Athens,

The story of Socrates begins with his students in the middle of his life, and has been famous since his thirties with his interlocutors and interrogations and even the story of his tragic execution that marked the end of the Golden Age of Athens, but the sources dealing with his early life are very few and scattered, including his early emotional life and the impact of his love in Asbazia Which led him to become "the most wise men of the ancient world" as he was called.

Using old written sources that have been ignored or misinterpreted, Oxford University professor Armand Dangor tried to paint the missing picture of Socrates when he was a young man in his 20s, a stage in which to look for evidence of changing his direction to become a thinker and philosopher who avoids material success instead of To retain his status as an elite Athens figure.

In his new book Socrates in Love, a philosopher's industry, Danjur concludes that Socrates's important elements were his knowledge and admiration of Espaceia, who was close to his age. The book sheds light on the youth of Socrates and his unorthodox growth among the elite of Athens, Philosophy, dance, wrestling and fighting.

He draws attention to the unusual image of Socrates as a wrestler and a sports dancer, and tells his story as a lover who refused his love to marry him, but in turn inspired him to develop ideas that philosophers have captured for 2,500 years now.

So Socrates learned love
In a famous Plato interview, Socrates says, "A long time ago (when I was a young man) I learned everything about the love of a smart woman."

Although such facts about the life of Socrates were available to historians, their analysis was not enough. The woman Socrates was supposed to love was given the name Diutima, and many historians and historians assumed that she was a fictional character.

But the scrutiny of the text of the discussion and the relevant historical evidence indicates that Deutema was a real figure who may have been camouflaged by Plato, who narrated Socrates' biography and dialogues. The new book is likely to be the Aspasia of Melitus, which Plato described as "the philosopher" Menxinos.

Esbazia was known for her beauty and intelligence, and although the information about her was scarce, she was famous for her relationship with one of Greece's greatest politicians, Pericles, who was the most prominent member of the Athens government for 30 years.

Pericles is said to have taken Esbazia as his mistress for more than a decade until his death in 429 BC. This enabled her to influence his positions and decisions and the politics of Athens as a whole and became part of the circle of intellectuals surrounding the Greek leader. But some of her contemporaries described her as a prostitute and her brothel .

Esbazia was also known as an expert in rhetoric and a counselor in marital relations, or in other words a figure known for her doctrine of love, just as Deutema was portrayed in Plato's dialogue.

What about young Socrates becoming a philosopher?
The new book assumes that this smart woman had a major intellectual influence in the early life of Socrates and did not learn rhetoric or love only, according to the book published by Bloomsbury Publishing House in March 2019.

The concepts attributed to Deutema are fundamental to Socrates' philosophy, as well as to the way of life he embraced. These concepts are that the material world should be set aside for the ideals, and that the spirit is not the satisfaction of the body.

Socrates began to talk about love in the discussion of the banquet, saying "Diutema", which he said is his teacher in the art of love, considering that it is between beauty and good, mediating between the divine and the fanny, and it represents the eternal and eternal acquisition of good.

Deutema also considered that those looking for physical beauty would end up overcoming the love of the body and moving to spiritual love, and then rise in love of unlimited wisdom towards beauty.

Socrates pointed out that he received eloquence at the hands of Espace, but he cited "Dutimma" as his teacher in love and not Espace, and the English academic Danjour believes that they are one person in fact.

In one of the dialogues of Plato and Espace, the latter described her role in the training of Socrates in funerary rhetoric. In other words, Espace was known for her skill in eloquence and rhetoric such as "deutema", especially the talk of virgin love.

The controversial priestess
Deutema is described in the conversation as a priestess and considered a metaphorical figure, but Plato leaves some evidence that her character can be determined from her collection.

Esbazia came from an elite family belonging to Athens that has ties to the Pericles family, which settled decades before the advent of Asbazia in the Greek city of Melitos in the western city of Aydin.

When Esbazia emigrated to Athens in about 450 BC, she was almost twenty years old, and on that date Socrates was also twenty years old.

A few years later, Asbazia became associated with Pericles, who was then a prominent politician in Athens and almost twice her age. Clerchus, one of Aristotle's students, notes that "before Espace was a friend of Pericles she was with Socrates."

This is consistent with other evidence that Socrates was a relative of Pericles when he was a young man. The great politician was admired by the philosophy of the philosopher who was safe in his reign and was therefore able to recognize Espace in that environment even before Pericles released his first wife In the controversial philosopher.

Philosopher and husband
Socrates later married the Greek girl Zantheby, who was much younger, and had three sons. The novels of the philosophers who wrote about Socrates appear to be different in describing his wife, whom Plato described as a faithful wife and mother, while Xenophon considered her a harsh and difficult woman. Plato chose it precisely because of its dialectic spirit.

It seems that the picture of Xenophon is the prevailing one, and Roy told Socrates that he said he became a philosopher and wise thanks to her quarrels.

Socrates - who introduced the concept of "virtue is knowledge" - was born in 469 BC to the father of a builder and a midwife, and died in 399 BC in prison in which he was incarcerated after his trial and accused of corrupting young people.

Socrates spent most of his time in a philosophical debate, followed by his disciples in the Roman arena near the old market where the people offered sacrifices to the Olympians, but Socrates did not write any of his teachings, but some of them wrote his disciple, philosopher Plato and historian Xenophon.

Socrates believed that the purpose of his life was to teach and question the prevailing beliefs, which was done during the Golden Age in Athens, at a time when the city enjoyed a great amount of philosophical freedom, political and artistic, and despite what he thought he fought bravely in three battles fought Within the army of Athens.

Socrates' relationship with his disciples - whose reputation has worsened among the people of Athens from Plato to Euclid, the father of engineering and the notorious political tycoon, as well as some tyrants who disrupted democracy in Athens in 404 BC has pushed his enemies to trial and accused him of corrupting young people and preaching new gods.

Socrates challenged his accusers in his apology or defense pleadings, as Plato wrote, refuting their claims one by one with the ingenious Socratic approach of asking certain questions so that he could get the answers he needed, but the judges sentenced him to death by drinking a glass of poisonous hemlock juice amid his students crying .