Meletus
Sign in to saveAlso known as Meletos, Meletus the Younger, Meletus Junior
Meletus (; fl. 5th–4th century BCE), a citizen of Athens in the Classical Era, came from the Pithus deme and has become known for his prosecuting role in the trial - and eventual execution - of the philosopher Socrates in 399 BCE.
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- name in native language
- Μέλητος
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4 sectionsContents
- Life
- Trial of Socrates
- See also
- References
Meletus (; fl. 5th–4th century BCE), a citizen of Athens in the Classical Era, came from the Pithus deme and has become known for his prosecuting role in the trial - and eventual execution - of the philosopher Socrates in 399 BCE.
==Life== Little is known of Meletus' life beyond what is portrayed in the Socratic literature, particularly Plato's dialogues, where he is named as the chief accuser of Socrates. In the Euthyphro, Plato describes Meletus as the youngest of the three prosecutors, having "a beak, and long straight hair, and a beard which is ill grown," and being unknown to Socrates prior to the prosecution. Meletus is also mentioned briefly in the Theaetetus. In Xenophon's Hellenica, he is reported as one of the envoys sent to negotiate a truce with the Lacedaemonians during the war between the democratic rebels and the Thirty Tyrants.