The Real Beginning

This is where the dialogue ends. Alcibiades has begun to see himself differently, at least for a moment. Whether the change will last depends on what he does next. History tells us what he did.

Alcibiades went on to become one of the most controversial figures in Athenian history. Brilliant in everything he did. Reckless. Charismatic. He would betray Athens for Sparta, then betray Sparta for Athens, then lose the trust of both. He died violently in exile.

The question this dialogue leaves unanswered is whether he ever really followed the advice Socrates gave him: whether he ever, even once, sat down to examine his own soul the way he examined everything else.

The question the dialogue leaves for you is different. You are not Alcibiades. Whatever your ability is, large or small, you have it. The question is the same one Socrates asked him. Do you know what you are?

Editor’s Note: These passages are taken from the final section of Plato’s Phaedo, which records the last hours of Socrates and the moment of his death. The Phaedo is a longer philosophical dialogue. What appears here is the concluding portion, adapted in the same way as the preceding texts. Plato was not present that day. He was ill. He wrote the account years later, from the testimony of those who were there.