Was Socrates in a Toxic Relationship with his Wife? episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 24, 2025 · 11 MIN

Was Socrates in a Toxic Relationship with his Wife?

from The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks · host Jon Brooks

Socrates' wife Xanthippe has come down to us as the original nightmare spouse. But how much of that is fair, and how much is two and a half thousand years of bad press? I sat down with philosopher and author Donald Robertson to look at what we actually know about their marriage.We get into whether she was genuinely difficult, whether Socrates was the easy one to live with, and how much of the story says more about ancient Athens than about either of them. A surprisingly human window onto one of philosophy's most famous figures. Free 7-Day Stoic Challenge: stoicchallenge.coThe Stoic Vault: stoicvault.com

Socrates' wife Xanthippe has come down to us as the original nightmare spouse. But how much of that is fair, and how much is two and a half thousand years of bad press? I sat down with philosopher and author Donald Robertson to look at what we actually know about their marriage. We get into whether she was genuinely difficult, whether Socrates was the easy one to live with, and how much of the story says more about ancient Athens than about either of them. A surprisingly human window onto one...

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Was Socrates in a Toxic Relationship with his Wife?

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This episode was published on February 24, 2025.

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Socrates' wife Xanthippe has come down to us as the original nightmare spouse. But how much of that is fair, and how much is two and a half thousand years of bad press? I sat down with philosopher and author Donald Robertson to look at what we...

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