Meletus
Encyclopedia
The Apology of Socrates
by Plato
names Meletus as the chief accuser of Socrates
. He is also mentioned in the Euthyphro
. Given his awkwardness as an orator, and his likely age at the time of Socrates' death, many hold that he was not the real leader of the movement against the early philosopher, but rather was simply the spokesman for a group led by Anytus
.
Meletus was probably a poet by trade and likely a religious fanatic who was more concerned with allegations of impiety than with the charges of corruption that were lodged against Socrates. Some believe Meletus was motivated primarily by the reports that Socrates had embarrassed the poets (in Plato's Gorgias
, Socrates accuses poets and orators of flattery and says that they impress only women, children, and slaves).
In the Euthyphro
, Plato describes Meletus, the youngest of the three accusers, as having "a beak, and long straight hair, and a beard which is ill grown." Plato wrote that, prior to the prosecution of Socrates, Meletus was "unknown" to him. During the first three hours of trial, Meletus and the other two accusers each stood in the law court in the center of Athens
to deliver previously crafted speeches to the jury against Socrates. No record of Meletus's speech survives.
However, we do have Plato's record of Socrates' cross-examination of Meletus (in those days, the defendant always cross-examined the accuser). Using his characteristic Socratic method
, Meletus is made to seem an inarticulate fool. He says that Socrates corrupts the young, and that Socrates is the only one to do so, but he can not provide a motive for why Socrates would do this. Socrates shows that if he were to do this it must surely be in ignorance, for no man would intentionally make bad those living around him. Concerning the accusation that Socrates believed in strange spirits and not the gods of the state, Socrates tricks Meletus into saying that spirits are the offspring of gods, and since no one believes in flutes playing without flute players, or in horses' offspring without horses, how could Socrates believe in the offspring of gods without believing in gods? For much of his cross examination Meletus remains silent, and we are led to believe that he does not have ready answers for Socrates.
Greek historian Diogenes Laertius
, writing in the first half of the 3rd century, dubiously reported that after the execution of Socrates "Athenians felt such remorse" that they banished Meletus from their city.
Apology (Plato)
The Apology of Socrates is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he unsuccessfully defended himself in 399 BC against the charges of "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel"...
by Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
names Meletus as the chief accuser of Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
. He is also mentioned in the Euthyphro
Euthyphro
Euthyphro is one of Plato's early dialogues, dated to after 399 BC. Taking place during the weeks leading up to Socrates' trial, the dialogue features Socrates and Euthyphro, a man known for claiming to be a religious expert. They attempt to pinpoint a definition for piety.-Background:The dialogue...
. Given his awkwardness as an orator, and his likely age at the time of Socrates' death, many hold that he was not the real leader of the movement against the early philosopher, but rather was simply the spokesman for a group led by Anytus
Anytus
Anytus , son of Anthemion, was one of the prosecutors of Socrates. An unsubstantiated legend has it that he was banished from Athens after the public felt guilty about having Socrates executed. We know that he was one of the leading supporters of the democratic forces in Athens...
.
Meletus was probably a poet by trade and likely a religious fanatic who was more concerned with allegations of impiety than with the charges of corruption that were lodged against Socrates. Some believe Meletus was motivated primarily by the reports that Socrates had embarrassed the poets (in Plato's Gorgias
Gorgias
Gorgias ,Greek sophist, pre-socratic philosopher and rhetorician, was a native of Leontini in Sicily. Along with Protagoras, he forms the first generation of Sophists. Several doxographers report that he was a pupil of Empedocles, although he would only have been a few years younger...
, Socrates accuses poets and orators of flattery and says that they impress only women, children, and slaves).
In the Euthyphro
Euthyphro
Euthyphro is one of Plato's early dialogues, dated to after 399 BC. Taking place during the weeks leading up to Socrates' trial, the dialogue features Socrates and Euthyphro, a man known for claiming to be a religious expert. They attempt to pinpoint a definition for piety.-Background:The dialogue...
, Plato describes Meletus, the youngest of the three accusers, as having "a beak, and long straight hair, and a beard which is ill grown." Plato wrote that, prior to the prosecution of Socrates, Meletus was "unknown" to him. During the first three hours of trial, Meletus and the other two accusers each stood in the law court in the center of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
to deliver previously crafted speeches to the jury against Socrates. No record of Meletus's speech survives.
However, we do have Plato's record of Socrates' cross-examination of Meletus (in those days, the defendant always cross-examined the accuser). Using his characteristic Socratic method
Socratic method
The Socratic method , named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas...
, Meletus is made to seem an inarticulate fool. He says that Socrates corrupts the young, and that Socrates is the only one to do so, but he can not provide a motive for why Socrates would do this. Socrates shows that if he were to do this it must surely be in ignorance, for no man would intentionally make bad those living around him. Concerning the accusation that Socrates believed in strange spirits and not the gods of the state, Socrates tricks Meletus into saying that spirits are the offspring of gods, and since no one believes in flutes playing without flute players, or in horses' offspring without horses, how could Socrates believe in the offspring of gods without believing in gods? For much of his cross examination Meletus remains silent, and we are led to believe that he does not have ready answers for Socrates.
Greek historian Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laertius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is known about his life, but his surviving Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is one of the principal surviving sources for the history of Greek philosophy.-Life:Nothing is definitively known about his life...
, writing in the first half of the 3rd century, dubiously reported that after the execution of Socrates "Athenians felt such remorse" that they banished Meletus from their city.