The Historical Dialogues of Aristofanes & Plato Socrates

Philosophical speculation is imbecilic to Aristophanes who views Socrates as having his head and feet in the clouds. Jokes abound that undermine philosophic pursuit, such as when Strepsiades knocks on the door of the Thinking frequent and gets the undermentioned response from a Disciple of Socrates "You are a stupid fellow, by Jove! Who have kicked against the door so real carelessly, and have caused the miscarriage of an idea which I had conceived" (Aristophanes 6).

We see that Aristophanes does not think very highly of one who puts so untold faith in reason that they begin cursing the gods when stop by something routine and part of daily reality. The positioning of Socrates suspend in air over his disciples who all have their heads turn toward the ground is a further mockery to the pompous and literally in this case lofty airs Aristophanes views philosophers like Socrates as adopting. Mocking every form of Socrates' dialogues, Aristophanes also has Socrates use fable to read Strepsiades, but instead of caves and shadows and the like we are case-hardened to gas from human indigestion after gorging. As Socrates tries to teach Strepsiades "I'll teach you from your own case. Were you ever, after being stuffed with broth at the Panthenaic festival, then disturbed in your belly, and did a tumult all of a sudden rumble through it??Consider, therefore, how you

Plato. Euthyphro, Apology, Crito. Translated by F. J. Church. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1956.

After reading Plato's dialogues we are not sure if every Plato or Aristophanes really knew the real person. This is because as mocked and ridiculed of a impersonation of Socrates and his beliefs as we receive from Aristophanes, Plato's idealized, do-no-wrong, repository-of-all-virtue characterization of Socrates comes in at the other(a) end of the spectrum of disbelief. It is like asking a Republican to shape Al Gore than reading a Democrat's description of him. Plato presents Socrates as a revered wise man whose lifetime of following the principles and ideals of philosophy (i.e., rational, logical, contemplation) has allowed him to know the good, the highest virtue. In direct contrast to Aristophanes' variation of Socrates as the undermining force among Athenian youth, in the Apology Plato has the philosopher apply himself against the charge:

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