Buy new:
-49% $30.19
FREE delivery Wednesday, May 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon
Sold by: SwiftCell
$30.19 with 49 percent savings
List Price: $58.99

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Wednesday, May 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$30.19 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$30.19
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon
Ships from
Amazon
Sold by
SwiftCell
Sold by
SwiftCell
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$12.70
Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority! Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority! See less
$3.99 delivery May 15 - 21. Details
Or fastest delivery May 13 - 16. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$30.19 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$30.19
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Ships from and sold by HPB-Red.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

James A. Colaiaco
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Socrates Against Athens

by James A. Colaiaco (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$30.19","priceAmount":30.19,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"30","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"19","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Nc1964pNxmeDLrlxrp7Oq0Arby7oNQG%2FOFmkiCXhSBpdaQ0Ng0OJ4JXvSsqPZ9D3OCnSKKfs9hIwiBuq1AxTwOeoAFik8jhD2mZ3fsmL9yWx8D4%2FZ9%2Fsik7lR66DoyUWYOBzdPd8tBO9u7O9MPryoMzf2mUKb%2FonO5x5bmcEnC8sl1iF4ISkCYCFvLmHdQ7%2B","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$12.70","priceAmount":12.70,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"12","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"70","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Nc1964pNxmeDLrlxrp7Oq0Arby7oNQG%2FCZcI03IPOhOU2DjsKJyBKuZwuYk5PqYKMIEYZIabfXtvqHpMfnpgGDa825eYYs%2FdFv%2BhSteI4IV7MOYdEMN5Zgmea6z0b8B6LMxmgfvwXpOUnKmvV592ipdbzj1maS24OE8KsoJVi%2BC%2B6QXIGsiFKrTK4cJ7GZLE","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

As an essential companion to Plato's Apology and Crito,Socrates Against Athens provides valuable historical and cultural context to our understanding of the trial.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    0415926548
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0415926546
  3. Publication date
    August 30, 2001
  4. Language
    English
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.63 x 9 inches
  6. Print length
    278 pages
  7. See all details
Next page
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...[Colaiaco] does a commendable job throughout of providing both historical and cultural context for the lay reader attempting to read the Apology and the Crito." -- Velvet Yates, University of California, Irvine
"Socrates Against Athens is a welcome addition to the literature on Socrates' trial and imprisonment. Written in a clear, engaging style, this study can be read profitably by anyone who is interested in the conflict between some of Athens' citizens and her most famous philosopher." -- Thomas C. Brickhouse, John Franklin East Professor of the Humanities, Lynchburg College

From the Back Cover

"A graceful guide to the dramatic trial of Socrates and why it still matters. James Colaiaco's well informed and sometimes provocative explanation of an ancient conflict between democracy and dissidence will enliven the modern debate over civil disobedience." -JOSIAH OBER, Princeton University

"SOCRATES AGAINST ATHENS is a welcome addition to the literature on Socrates' trial and imprisonment. Written in a clear, engaging style, this study can be read profitably by anyone who is interested in the conflict between some of Athens' citizens and her most famous philosopher." -THOMAS C. BRICKHOUSE, Lynchburg College

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge (August 30, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 278 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0415926548
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0415926546
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.02 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.63 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
James A. Colaiaco

James A. Colaiaco

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

James A. Colaiaco received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in Intellectual History. He taught Great Books of the Western and Eastern Traditions at New York University. His academic interests include comparative religion, political theory, philosophy and history. One of his published books, SOCRATES AGAINST ATHENS, has been translated into modern Greek and Korean. He is a recipient of the NYU Award for Teaching Excellence and the NYU Distinguished Teaching Medal.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
7 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jason L. Merritt
5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, Accessible, and Thorough Introduction to Plato's Apology
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2017
Verified Purchase
Colaiaco's work here is very clearly written and argued. The book essentially functions as a commentary on the Apology, tracing the rhetorical flow of Socrates' speech while also providing a good bit of social and historical commentary to help the reader understand why and how Socrates ended up on trial for his life, and essentially arguing that neither Socrates nor the Athenians could have chosen any other path than the one they followed. Colaiaco writes for a discerning reader, but not a trained classicist. If you have some understanding of classical Greece, you'll be able to follow his argument and glean quite a bit more information and perspective on the time period and Socrates' life, trial, and death.
Helpful
 Report
Duke
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book--easy to read and full of info
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2013
Verified Purchase
If you're interested in learning more about Socrates and larger Athenian attitudes towards philosophy and rhetoric--check this book out. It is very easy to read but also full of good info. Recommend it very much!
Helpful
 Report
pulling cheek swirl better shake up
5.0 out of 5 stars Philosophy on trial: the first big case
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2004
The main thing about philosophy in ancient Greece is that it produced the ultimate account of the case which is the subject of SOCRATES AGAINST ATHENS by James A. Colaiaco. It has the Notes, Selected Bibliography, and Index of a scholarly work, and the last page of the Index shows more pages listed for Leo Strauss than for I. F. Stone. There are even more entries in the Index for Friedrich Nietzsche than for Stone and Strauss, which shows an awareness of the larger philosophical questions involved. All the information in this book is an outstanding background for understanding what Nietzsche was trying to explain in Section 340 of THE GAY SCIENCE, called, "The dying Socrates." Nietzsche was impressed by the last moment of Socrates' life.
`Whether it was death or the poison or piety or malice--something loosened his tongue at that moment and he said: "O Crito, I owe Asclepius a rooster." '
Colaiaco puts so much emphasis on "the moral claim that one's duty to obey God is superior to one's duty to obey the state" (pp. 1-2) that the final words of Socrates must seem much more sarcastic after reading this book than for anyone who has merely shared I. F. Stone's interest in Athens as an origin of judicial process, democracy, and free speech. I. F. Stone's THE TRIAL OF SOCRATES (1988) hardly mentions Nietzsche and Gregory Vlastos, but his knowledge of Greek language and culture provide an interesting political background for understanding Stone's imaginative chapters, "How Socrates Easily Might have Won Acquittal," and "What Socrates Should Have Said."
In fact, the trial put so much emphasis on Socrates' failure to observe the customs of ordinary Athenians, having his last words call for a sacrifice to the god of health might seem to be a continuation of the point Socrates was making in the conclusion of his argument at his trial. "Surely, he presumes, unable to resist one final barb against his accusers, philosophers would not be executed for critical activity in the underworld." (Colaiaco, pp. 184-185). Colaiaco accepts Socrates' willingness to participate in a death sentence as the ultimate triumph of philosophy over the judgments of this world, though his own acceptance of this judgment is hedged by the comment, "Significantly, he omits any mention of a possible encounter with Achilles, the Homeric warrior-hero whom he, as philosopher-hero, superseded." (p. 184). On the scale of truth in philosophy and politics, this could be some indication of why modern politicians have so little expectation of being confronted by philosophers, as Hitler hardly ever heard anything from Martin Heidegger.
11 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Owey.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book bargain price.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2020
Verified Purchase
Great book at great price! Well happy with overall experience. Would buy again from sellers.
Report