Meletus ( el, Μέλητος; fl. 5th–4th century BCE) was an
ancient Athenian Greek from the Pithus
deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...
known for his prosecuting role in the trial and eventual execution of the
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no t ...
.
Life
Little is known of Meletus' life beyond what is portrayed in the
Socratic literature, particularly
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's dialogues, where he is named as the chief accuser of Socrates. In the ''
Euthyphro
''Euthyphro'' (; grc, Εὐθύφρων, translit=Euthyphrōn; c. 399–395 BC), by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue whose events occur in the weeks before the trial of Socrates (399 BC), between Socrates and Euthyphro. The dialogue covers sub ...
'', Plato describes Meletus as the youngest of the three prosecutors, having "a beak, and long straight hair, and a beard which is ill grown," and being unknown to Socrates prior to the prosecution.
[Plato, ''Euthyphro'', 2b] Meletus is also mentioned briefly in the ''
Theaetetus''. In Xenophon's
Hellenica, he is reported as one of the envoys that were sent to negotiate a truce with the Lacedaemonians during the war between the democratic rebels and the
Thirty Tyrants.
The later Greek historian
Diogenes Laërtius dubiously reported that after the execution of Socrates "Athenians felt such remorse" that they executed Meletus and banished his associates from the city. He also argues that it was
Antisthenes
Antisthenes (; el, Ἀντισθένης; 446 366 BCE) was a Greek philosopher and a pupil of Socrates. Antisthenes first learned rhetoric under Gorgias before becoming an ardent disciple of Socrates. He adopted and developed the ethical side ...
, the disciple of
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no t ...
and founder of
Cynicism, who was largely thought responsible for the execution of Meletus.
[Diogenes Laërtius, 6.9]
Trial of Socrates
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' speech survives. However, within the ''
Apology'' we do have Plato's record of Socrates' cross-examination of Meletus, per the Athenian legal convention allowing the defendant to cross-examine the accuser. Using his characteristic
Socratic method
The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw ou ...
, Socrates makes Meletus 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.
[Plato, ''Apology'', 24c–28a] Socrates shows that if he were to do this it must surely be in ignorance, for no good 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 shows that Meletus is 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, Socrates could not believe in the offspring of gods without believing in gods.
See also
*
List of speakers in Plato's dialogues
following is a list of the speakers found in the dialogues traditionally ascribed to Plato, including extensively quoted, indirect and conjured speakers. Dialogues, as well as Platonic '' Epistles'' and '' Epigrams'', in which these individuals ...
References
{{reflist
Ancient Athenians
Socrates