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Phaedo
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Marble bust of Alexander the Great, in the British Museum, London, England. Hellenistic Greek, 2nd-1st century BC. Said to be from Alexandria, Egypt. Height: 37 cm.
Ancient Greece
Agathon (centre) greeting guests in "Plato's Symposium" oil on canvas by Anselm Feuerbach, 1869; in the Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Philosophy 101
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Also spelled:
Phaedon
Born:
c. 417 bc,, Elis, in the Peloponnesus [Greece]
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Phaedo

Greek philosopher
Also known as: Phaedon
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Phaedo (born c. 417 bc, Elis, in the Peloponnesus [Greece]) was a philosopher, founder of a Socratic school of philosophy at Elis on the Peloponnese, and author of works on dialectics and ethics.

(Read Peter Singer’s Britannica entry on ethics.)

Born of an aristocratic family, Phaedo was made a prisoner in the war with Sparta (400–399 bc) and was sold as a slave. Bought and freed by an Athenian who was a friend of Socrates, Phaedo became Socrates’ disciple. Plato named one of his dialogues after him. After Socrates’ death, Phaedo returned to Elis and established his school.

Marble bust of Alexander the Great, in the British Museum, London, England. Hellenistic Greek, 2nd-1st century BC. Said to be from Alexandria, Egypt. Height: 37 cm.
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Ancient Greece

Many dialogues were attributed to Phaedo, but only the Zopyrus and Simon have survived.

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