Socrates, wake up!: an analysis and exegesis of the “preface” in Plato’s Crito (43a1-b9)

Abstract

In this paper I offer a close analysis of the first scene in Plato’s Crito (43a1-b9). Understanding a Platonic dialogue as a philosophical drama turns apparent scene-setting into an integral and essential part of the philosophical discussion. The two apparently innocent questions Socrates asks at the beginning of the Crito anticipate Crito’s two problems, namely how he regards his friendship with Socrates as opposed to his complicated relations with the polis and its sovereignty. These two questions are an integral part of the philosophical discussion presented throughout the dialogue.