Just Myrto (22 page)

“I'll walk you home,” he said.

“No,” I replied. “I'll walk back with Lamprocles.”

“I'll return tomorrow and ask you again,” he said. “And the day after that and the day after that. I'll come back every day until you agree to marry me,” he insisted.

“No,” I said again. “You will live your life and let me live mine. There is no greater gift we could offer in memory of Socrates than to know and to be ourselves.”

Plato's shoulders slumped and his head hung low. When he finally looked up at me I could see tears streaming down his face. “That's it? Can I offer you nothing?”

I could feel the tears on my cheeks as well. I forced a smile. “For me, nothing is the beginning of everything.”

Plato shook his head. “You are even more puzzling than Socrates. And now I've lost you both.” He kissed me on the cheek and walked sadly across the bridge alone.

I turned and walked back to where Lamprocles was waiting. “You're not going to marry him?” he asked anxiously.

“No,” I replied. “I cannot be who he wants me to be.”

Lamprocles leaped into the air with a shout. When he landed, he threw his arms around me and hugged me.

“Let's go home,” Lamprocles said.

“Yes,” I agreed. “Let's go home.”

H
ISTORIANS
DISAGREE ON
whether or not Socrates married Myrto. Of those who believe he did, some say that Myrto was Socrates' first wife and that Xanthippe was Socrates' second wife and the mother of all three of his sons. Others say that Myrto was Socrates' second wife and the mother of his two youngest sons.

Most of what we know about Socrates comes from his student, Plato. Plato names only Xanthippe as Socrates' wife. Nevertheless, Plato's student Aristotle wrote that Socrates married Xanthippe first, and that she was the mother of Lamprocles. Later, Socrates took Myrto, a descendant of Aristides the Just, as his second wife. According to Aristotle, Myrto had no dowry, and was the mother of Sophroniscus and Menexenus.
Just Myrto
implies that Plato wrote Myrto out of history because she did not return his love. While this is pure conjecture by the author, it would be ironic if Myrto's feelings for Plato were in fact “platonic.”

Socrates' manner of questioning has become known as the Socratic Method. Plato's Socratic dialogues provide the foundation for western thought, yet the opportunity for eastern influence and mysticism existed as well. The art of self-inquiry inherent in the Socratic Method is a universally spiritual practice.

Acropolis
– The ancient fortress of Athens including buildings such as the Parthenon.

Acheron
– Known as the river of pain, Acheron was one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld (Hades).

Achilles
– A Greek warrior, hero of the Trojan War and central character of Homer's
The Illiad.

Aeschylus
– (c. 525 – 456 BCE) Ancient Greek playwright, often called the father of tragedy.

Aesop
– (c. 620–564 BCE) Ancient Greek storyteller credited with writing many fables.

Agora
– The gathering place or central market in ancient Greek cities.

Alcaeus
– (c. 620 – 6th century BCE) Ancient Greek lyric poet and alleged lover of Sappho.

Alcibiades
– (c. 450 – 404 BCE) Famous Athenian statesman, orator and general. Subject of two dialogues by Plato (
Alcibiades I
and
II
103a – 151c).

Alopeke
– Home of Socrates, southeast of the Acropolis.

Amazon
– A nation of women warriors in Greek mythology.

Ambrosia
– Food or drink of the Greek gods.

Antigone
– A tragedy written by Sophocles circa 441 BCE; in Greek mythology, Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta (mother of Oedipus).

Anytus
– One of the Athenian politicians who prosecuted Socrates (
Apology
23e).

Aphrodite
– Greek goddess of love and procreation.

Apollo
– Greek god of the sun, god of the Oracle at Delphi, and twin brother of goddess Artemis.

Ares
– Greek god of war.

Aristides
– Grandson of Aristides the Just, son of Lysimachus, student of Socrates (
Laches
179b,
Theages
130a).

Aristides the Just
– (c. 530 – 468 BCE) Athenian statesman and general. son of Lysimachus, father of Lysimachus, grandfather of Aristides, and grandfather or ancestor of Myrto.

Aristocles
– Plato's given name at birth.

Ariston
– Plato's father.

Aristophanes
– (c. 446 - 386 BCE) A comic playwright of ancient Athens whose surviving plays include
The Acharnians
(unflattering to Aspasia) and
The Clouds
(unflattering to Socrates).

Artemis
– Greek goddess of hunting and childbirth, protector of young girls; often represented by the moon, Artemis is the twin sister of god Apollo.

Asclepius
– Greek god of medicine and healing.

Aspasia
– (c. 470 - 400 BCE) Foreign wife of the Athenian statesman Pericles, teacher of Socrates (
Menexenus
235e – 249e).

Athena
– Greek goddess of wisdom and justice; also known as sometimes called Pallas Athena.

Athens
– Powerful city-state in ancient Greece.

Chaos
– The dark, silent abyss from which all things came into existence; formless matter.

Chaerophon
– (c. 465 – 401 BCE) Friend of Socrates who asked the Oracle at Delphi if anyone was wiser than Socrates (
Apology
21a).

Charmides
– (c. 450 – 403 BCE) Plato's uncle; one of the Thirty Tyrants.

Chorus
– In classical Greek plays, this group of performers acted as a collective voice for dramatic action, providing background and other crucial information.

Colonus
– In ancient Greece, a town just northwest of Athens; birthplace of Sophocles; burial place of Oedipus.

Connus
– Socrates' music teacher (
Menexenus
236a).

Corinth
– A city-state in ancient Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta.

Creon
– Mythological ruler of Thebes; a main character in Sophocles plays
Antigone
and
Oedipus at Colonus.

Critias
– (460 – 403 BCE) Relative of Plato; one of the Thirty Tyrants.

Crito
– Socrates' wealthy friend who wants Socrates to escape from prison and go into exile. Subject of a dialogue by Plato (Crito 43a – 54e).

Croesus
– King of Lydia from 560 - 547 BCE until his defeat by the Persians.

Delium
– Site of a battle in the Peloponnesian War in 424 BCE where Alcibiades marched with Socrates after the Athenians were defeated. (
Symposium
221a-c).

Delos
– Island in ancient Greece where the Athenians sent an annual tribute to Apollo. No prisoners could be executed during the ships voyage, so Socrates' execution was delayed until the ship returned.

Demeter
– Greek goddess of the harvest; mother of Persephone.

Democritus
– (c. 460 – 370 BCE) One of the two founders of ancient theory on atoms; author of
Little Cosmology;
student of Leucippus.

Dionysus
– Greek god of wine and the arts.

Ephebe
– A young man, aged 18-20, in training to become a good citizen and soldier.

Eros
– Greek god of sexual love.

Euripides
– (c. 480 – 406 BCE) Ancient Greek playwright.

Eurydice
– Creon's wife in Greek mythology and in Sophocles' plays
Antigone
and
Oedipus at Colonus.

Euthyphro
– Young man who brought marcher charges against his father for the death of a servant. Subject of a dialogue by Plato (
Euthyphro
2a – 16a).

Gorgias
– (c. 485 – 380 BCE) A pre-Socratic philosopher, master of rhetoric, and sophist. Subject of a dialogue by Plato (
Gorgias
447a – 527 e).

Graces
– In Greek mythology, three goddesses of charm, beauty, and creativity; Socrates sculpted a statue of the Graces that stood at the entrance to the Acropolis.

Hades
– Greek god of death; also the name of the underworld where the dead reside.

Haemon
– The son of Creon and Eurydice and lover of Antigone in Sophocles' play
Antigone
.

Helen of Troy
– Wife of Menelaus, Helen was considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Her abduction by Paris started the Trojan War.

Hera
– Greek goddess of marriage; wife of Zeus.

Heraclitus
– (c. 535 – 475 BCE) Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher famous for saying, “No man ever steps in the same river twice”; author of
On Nature.

Hercules
– Greek demi-god famous for his strength and adventures.

Hermes
– Greek god who acts as messenger and intercessor between mortals and the divine.

Hesiod
– (c. 750 – 650 BCE) Ancient Greek poet, author of
Theogony.

Hestia
– Greek goddess of the hearth and domestic life.

Hippocrates
– (c. 460 – 370 BCE) Ancient Greek physician credited with coining the Hippocratic Oath.

Homer
– (7th or 8th century BCE) Ancient Greek epic poet, author of
The Iliad
and
The Odyssey.

Hoplite
– Citizen soldier of Ancient Greece who wore a suit of armor and fought with bronze spears and shields.

Hygeia
– Greek goddess of health and cleanliness.

Hymen
– Greek god of marriage ceremonies, inspiring feasts and song.

Hymenaeus
– Greek lyric poems sung during the procession of the bride to the groom's house.

Iaso
– Greek goddess of recuperation from illness.
The Illiad
– Ancient Greek epic poem by Homer about the Trojan War.

Illisus
– In ancient Greece, a river just outside the defensive walls of Athens.

Isles of the Blessed
– In Greek mythology, a place like paradise where heroes and favored mortals are received by the gods.

Jocasta
– In Greek mythology and in Sophocles' play
Oedipus the King
, Jocasta is the mother who abandons Oedipus at birth and later unwittingly becomes his wife.

Lamprocles
– Eldest son of Socrates and Xanthippe.

Leon from Salamis
– An honorable man unjustly put to death by the Thirty Tyrants. Socrates refused to participate in the injustice (
Apology
32c-d).

Leucippus
– One of the two founders of ancient theory on atoms; author of
Big Cosmology;
Democritus' teacher.

Lycon
– A prosecutor in the trial of Socrates (
Apology
36b).

Lysicles
– (c. 478 -428 BCE) Athenian general; Aspasia's husband after Pericles died.

Lysimachus
– Son of Aristides the Just (
Laches
179b,
Theages
130a).

Medusa
– In Greek mythology, a monster with a woman's face and serpent hair; anyone who looked directly at her would turn to stone.

Meletus
– Chief prosecutor of Socrates (
Euthyphro
2b)

Menexenus
– Socrates' youngest son, still an infant at the time of Socrates' death; multiple sources (Diogenes Laertius, Athenaeus, Plutarch, Aristotle) suggest that Myrto rather than Xanthippe was Menexenus' mother.

Mount Olympus
– Home of the twelve Olympian gods.

Muses
– Eight Greek goddesses of inspiration for literature, the arts and science; Plato names the poet Sappho as the ninth muse. (
Epigrams
16).

Myrto
– (5th century BCE) A descendent, probably the granddaughter, of Aristides the Just; Aristotle and others have named her as Socrates' second wife and the mother of his two youngest sons, Sophroniscus and Menexenus.

Obol
– A silver coin in ancient Greece placed in the mouth of the dead to ensure safe passage to the afterlife. Six obols equaled a drachma, which was approximately one day's wage. Those serving on Socrates' jury would have received three obols each.

Odysseus
– King of Ithaca and hero of Homer's epic poem
The Odyssey.
Odysseus was also the mastermind behind the Trojan Horse in Homer's
The Illiad
.

The Odyssey
– Ancient Greek epic poem by Homer about Odyssey's journey home from the Trojan War.

Oedipus the King
– Ancient Greek tragedy by Sophocles first performed in Athens circa 429 BCE. Oedipus was destined from birth to murder his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta.