Xenophon and Plato Trivia Quiz

Answer: Plato

Plate wrote "The Republic" c. 375 BC. It was presented as a Socratic dialogue about the ideal state and just society. In the story, the fictional polis of Kallipolis was ruled by a ruler who Plato called a philosopher-king. This was an individual who was educated in such a way that they would develop the wisdom and virtue needed to govern well. There were three classes of people who existed in this utopia - rulers, or philosopher-kings, soldiers, who were called auxiliaries, and producers.

The topics presented in Plato's book have been explored by philosophers ever since it was written. His views regarding the rigorous education of would-be rulers and his moral philosophy regarding the importance of justice have been debated over and over by those who aspired to create the same sort of good life and society.

Answer: Plato

Plato is really a bit of a contradiction. On the one hand he established the Academy where the most profound knowledge of the day was taught. But his students were expected to take what they had learned and apply it to his Theory of Forms, or ideals, which represented perfection. They were not to examine the physical world, which in Plato's opinion was not the real world. They were to examine the real world, which was non-physical, perfect, and eternal. It was only accessible to those who reached intellectual enlightenment.

My first thought is that Plato must have lived a very unhappy life - to continuously seek the unattainable has to be tiring and unfulfilling - just reading his views about it has always made me crazy. Plato meant for his thoughts to motivate people to learn, do better, and to try harder. Maybe that explains why Aristotle stayed at the Academy for twenty years. It had to take a long time to grasp eternal truths which were highly theoretical.

Answer: Plato

Considered to be the first school of higher learning in the world, Plato founded the Academy sometime around 387 BC. It was named for Academus, a mythological Athenian hero who helped Castor and Polux rescue the lovely Helen who had been kidnapped by Theseus - long before her abduction by Paris. The location was situated in a public area that had long been sacred to the goddess Athena and had been named the Akademeia.

Students at the Academy studied a variety of subjects such as philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, and the sciences. It was very exclusive in spite of the fact that Plato did not charge tuition; students participated in discussions, debates, and study - that would teach them how to think - as well as physical exercise. A major purpose of the school was to prepare students for participation in public life.

Plato's original Academy remained open until 83 BC, but was re-established and in operation for about 900 years. In 529 AD the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I closed the school, as it believed it was a pagan institution that promoted non-Christian beliefs.

Answer: Plato

Plato had a lot of students, but Aristotle, who attended the Academy for about twenty years, had to have been his most famous. Called the "mind of the school" by his mentor and close friend, Aristotle stayed in Athens until c. 348 BC when Plato died and the school was passed on his to nephew.

Although Plato and Aristotle shared many beliefs, Aristotle was much more interested in the real world, focusing on not just moral philosophy, but also biology and physics. He was not content to only postulate theories regarding truth and perfection; he preferred to carefully observe and classify.

Answer: Plato and Xenophon

While it is not exactly known when Plato met Socrates, his stepfather's family and Socrates were part of the same social circle and were known to be friends. Plato attended Socrates' sessions with other boys and eventually became part of his inner circle. Before meeting Socrates, Plato had apparently hoped to become a poet; after meeting Socrates he burned all of his poetry and decided to be a philosopher instead.

Xenophon had quite a different first meeting with Socrates. According to the story, Socrates blocked the young man's path on a busy street, and, in typical fashion, asked him all sorts of questions. He finally ended with, "Where are men made good and virtuous"? When Xenophon couldn't answer, Socrates invited him to become a follower, which he did.

Answer: Plato and Xenophon

Plato is quite famous for his dialogues - essays that were written as conversations. These essays mainly featured Socrates, along with his famous method of questioning, which helped his students find truth. Considered to be the foundation of Western philosophy, they cover a vast range of topics, such as ethnics, justice, knowledge, love, and death. Plato used other people as the main characters in his dialogues, and never used his own voice, although he sometimes did make his opinions clear. "The Republic" is considered to be the most famous out of the thirty-five dialogues Plato wrote, but he also wrote one called "Apology", which was about the trial of his teacher, Socrates. The name is a bit misleading; apology comes from the Greek "apologia", for defense. It gives the main idea of Socrates' defense speech, and also condemns the judges and the state of Athens at the time for being unjust.

Xenophon also wrote dialogues, and in four of them he also used the voice of Socrates to discuss topics of the day, like how to run a successful household and just what are the different types of affection. In them Socrates is shown to be a moral man who is concerned with the goings on of daily life and ethical conduct. In "Memorabilia", Socrates was shown as not just a philosopher seeking truth, but also as a moral man who believed in religion, honored the gods, obeyed the laws of the polis, and helped Athenians to be better people. It definitely was an attempt to exonerate Socrates of the wrong doings of which he was accused, rehabilitate his image for future generations, and serve as a reminder of his positive influence in Athens. Xenophon also wrote an "Apology" regarding his teacher's trial.

Plato's "Apology" featured Socrates defending himself on the false charges brought against him and so did Xenophon's "Apology"; Xenophon's "Memorabilia", however, featured Xenophon defending his teacher in his own voice. Both philosophers had the same purpose. They wanted to show Socrates in a better light for future people who studied his life and teachings.

Answer: Plato and Xenophon

Plato's beliefs regarding democracy are quite well known, as he (and Aristotle) called it the worst form of government and rule by the unqualified. As written in "The Republic", he believed that the best government would be run by philosopher-kings who had been educated in the areas of justice, wisdom, and goodness; knowing how to govern was a skill to be learned, and not one that most people ever acquired on their own. When given the opportunity, he tried to pass this skill on to the ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius II, but was not successful; perhaps Aristotle was more successful in passing the skill and wisdom on to his famous student, Alexander the Great.

Both Plato and Xenophon became very disillusioned with Athens' experiment in democracy after the trial and death of Socrates; they agreed on the traits the best leader would have, emphasizing wisdom and competence. Xenophon greatly admired the absolute monarchy in Persia under Cyrus the Great, or the oligarchy of Sparta, believing that a good tyranny was better than a faulty democracy.

Answer: Plato and Xenophon

All Athenian citizens - typically men who were born there, over 18, and not a slave - were expected to serve in the military whenever needed. At the age of 18 they would enter the ephebeia, a two-year, state-controlled program that not only trained young citizens for military service, but also for civic duty. The instruction centered around the gymnasium, where physical fitness and military training were emphasized. After their period of training, an Athenian citizen could be called up to fight in mandatory service whenever necessary until they reached the age of sixty.

There isn't much written about Plato's military exploits, but it is known that he served for about five years at the end of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), which took place between the Leagues of Sparta and Athens. He also fought in the Corinthian War (395-387 BC) against Sparta; some ancient accounts say that he received a commendation for bravery in battle at some point during this time. It is agreed that Plato's military service - and the death of Socrates (399 BC) - are what led him away from a plan to pursue a political career.

Ancient historians wrote that Xenophon also briefly served in the Athenian military at the end of the Peloponnesian War, c. 404 BC. Due to his status in Athenian society, he was probably a cavalryman. Xenophon also fought for the Thirty Tyrants (404-403 BC), the Spartan-backed oligarchy that was set up in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War. He, however, disagreed with the new government that was established, and left Athens shortly after.

Answer: Xenophon

During the trial of Socrates, and his subsequent death, Xenophon was away from Athens. He had been invited by one of the captains in Cyrus the Younger's mercenary army to meet the Persian prince and, if all went well, participate with the Persian and Greek soldiers that had been amassed to gain free land from the Persian satrap of Ionia; in reality, Cyrus really hoped to use the group to defeat his brother and take the Persian throne. Interestingly, Socrates had advised Xenophon to consult the oracle before making a commitment to Cyrus, which, of course, he did. His question, however, didn't have anything to do with if he should go, but rather to which gods he should make sacrifices in order to ensure a safe journey. Socrates criticized him for that, but also told him he had to go since he had to follow through with what the oracle said. Xenophon left Athens in 401 BC, and Socrates was put on trial two years later.

Cyrus and many of his generals were killed at the Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC), leaving the mercenary group, known as the Ten Thousand, without leadership. Stranded deep in Persia, Xenophon was chosen as one of the leaders of the group, and was so successful in engineering the 1500 mile journey out of potentially hostile territory that some writers have called him the "father of the system of retreat" and "the greatest general to have lived before Alexander the Great". Xenophon wrote about the averted disaster in his "Anabasis".

Answer: Xenophon

The great Thucydides is considered by many to be the first writer of scientific history, meaning that he did not rely on hearsay information or talk about how certain events took place because the gods became involved. He made every attempt to write about what happened in an impartial way, using eye witness accounts, so that readers could draw their own conclusions, along with giving his own analysis. His "History of the Peloponnesian War" is still used today by historians to not only study the events, but also decide why they happened. The problem is that Thucydides died before completing this very important document. Xenophon took over where he left off.

His "Hellenica" covers the period from 411-362 BC; this includes the last four years of the Peloponnesian War, as well as the aftermath, which was a period of utter chaos in Athens. It is believed that Xenophon wrote very much in the same way that Thucydides did, although his book does show a bit of favoritism to Sparta, a city-state which he greatly admired. Writing very soon after the events occurred, Xenophon did not just rely on his own recollections, but he also interviewed eye witnesses, who were friends that he generally trusted to tell him the truth. If there is a weakness to his writing, it was his failure to double check all his sources. He did not, however, include anything that he felt was not the truth. "Hellenica" is divided into seven books that begin with the last few years of the Peloponnesian War, and take readers to the time of the Theban hegemony in Greece, when even Athens and Sparta briefly made an alliance against Thebes.

Many historians do not see Xenophon's historical writings as being equal to Thucydides and Herodotus. They are, however, an important history of the events and culture of his time.

Answer: Xenophon

In nearly every event in Xenophon's life, it is easy to find the emphasis on the practical rather than the idealistic. During the time of his leadership with the Ten Thousand, when faced with life or death situations, he found ways to overcome adversity. The group largely made it back to Greece because of his leadership, courage, and ability to find a practical solution to the problem it faced.

Many of the books Xenophon wrote also attempted to show the successful use of practical skills, such as how to train horses, how to successfully hunt with dogs, and how a cavalry officer should carry out his duties. In his Socratic dialogues, he not only tried to defend his teacher, but also show that his teachings focused on useful skills like how to manage a household or farm, which emphasized Socrates' important contribution to Athenian life.

Answer: Xenophon

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Xenophon was exiled from Athens for the last years of his life; he just publicly admired Sparta and Persia too much! He had come into contact with both during his time in the Ten Thousand, and especially admired Cyrus the Younger, believing that the Persians were a well organized society with fair laws - a belief with which historians concur today.

It must be remembered that when Athens' Golden Age ended, it ended with quite a thud and never really recovered. The experiment in limited democracy was interrupted once before being restored and permanently ended with Macedonia's conquest in 338 BC. Xenophon admired Sparta's discipline and military training, and their focus on duty reminded him of Socrates, even though he did note that over time Sparta declined and became corrupt.

Xenophon fought with Sparta against a coalition that included Athens in the Battle of Coronea in 394 BC. After that, Athens exiled him for treason. The Spartans gave him an estate near Olympia at Scillus, where he lived until around 371 BC. At that time, Sparta was defeated in at the Battle of Leuctra, and Xenophon was said to have moved and lived out the remainder of his life in Corinth.