3.1 The Childhood of Socrates

Socrates’ childhood was probably fairly typical for a boy from a family of modest means. He was born to Sophroniscus and Phaenarete in the deme, or borough, of Alopece in the year Apsephion was archon of record, or the fourth year of the seventy-seventh Olympiad (470/469 BC). We do not know exactly what day or month he was born. Soon after his birth, his father would perform the rite of amphidromia, running around the hearth carrying the baby to welcome him into the family. Subsequently, a family gathering, the dekat?? (Tenth Day) ceremony, was held, during which Sophroniscus acknowledged the paternity of his boy, offering a sacrifice and giving him the name Socrates.

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