The wounded Socrates

The Wounded Socrates , written by Bertolt Brecht , is about bravery and truth. The experiences of the battle of Delion are described, after which the battle was won by Socrates . The story is part of the calendar stories .

Emergence

The first writing of the story, The Wounded Socrates , came in December 1938 when Brecht was in exile. The story was first published as part of the other calendar stories. Bertolt Brecht took ideas for the story from Plato's symposium , in which Socrates is portrayed as a brave warrior, and from the play The Rescued Alcibiades , written by Georg Kaiser , from which Brecht took the thorn motif.

content

Socrates was a soldier and fought with the foot troops in the Battle of Delion. He was a shoemaker by profession and Socrates enjoyed talking to his friends about philosophical topics. One morning the Athenians went into battle. There was Socrates, who knew the Athenian plan. It was well known that the infantry stood there quite simply, loyally and honestly and took the thrust of the enemy. Meanwhile the cavalry would advance into the valley and fall in the rear of the enemy. Socrates doubted this plan and ran away, unfortunately he got into a field of thorns, with a thorn stuck in his foot. Plagued by the pain, he had to rest. When a small group of Persians came up to him, Socrates started shouting orders. The Persians then fled because they were afraid of an ambush. That day the Athenians won the war. Socrates was a celebrated hero. There was a lot of talk about Socrates in the village and word of his heroism spread quickly. However, nobody knew the real reason why Socrates had fled. It was his fear that had controlled him. He did not even tell the truth to his wife and Socrates had to endure the next few days in severe pain. A few days later a victory ceremony was to take place, at which Socrates should receive an honor for his achievements. Socrates desperately came up with an excuse. In the end, Socrates canceled on the grounds that he had no time. During a visit by his friends Antisthenes and Alcibiades , Socrates became very nervous, whereupon he confessed to them that in reality he was by no means brave. Alkibiades responded with admiration and said that Socrates was very brave because no one would have admitted what Socrates had done under the circumstances. This bravery is greater than the bravery in battle.

interpretation

Xanthippe was the wife of the philosopher Socrates . In the story, she is the leading figure in the household, as Socrates is usually a lazy man who only focuses on philosophizing. Xanthippe does not believe in popular talk that says that the war was won by Socrates. She cannot believe that a philosopher can win a war. Socrates withholds the true course of the war from her and remains closed because he does not want her to learn the truth. Despite his reticence, Xanthippe notices his behavior and she even considers asking him about it, which she didn't. These passages show that Xanthippe knows her husband very well and they are close.

shape

The calendar story The Wounded Socrates is a fictional story that borders on reality. Basic elements of the story, such as the main character Socrates, his wife Xanthippe and the Battle of Delion were taken from reality. The story is of an authorial narrator says.

Effect / reception

The supposed heroic story ends with Socrates confessing that he lied. This is also the intention of Brecht to show that Socrates is not a hero in a warlike sense, but rather shows that Socrates' bravery lies more in telling the truth.

Miscellaneous

Throughout history, Brecht made changes such as: As he let Socrates in the battle of Delion against Persians fight, although the battle against the Boeotians was performed.

literature

Bertolt Brecht: Calendar Stories . 1949