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Secondary sourceSculpture1885

Socrates (statue)

Leonidas Drosis · 1885

A seated marble statue of Socrates made in 1885 by Leonidas Drosis, standing at the Academy of Athens.

This 1885 statue commemorates Socrates, marking modern Greece's claiming of him as a national founding figure.

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White marble statue of a bearded seated man, Socrates, resting his chin on one hand in a thoughtful pose, on a stone pedestal. Behind him stands a tall Ionic column topped by a gilded capital and a statue of a figure holding a lyre. A classical building with a pediment is at right.
Leonidas Drosis, Socrates, 1885. Academy of Athens, Greece.

About this source

What it is

This marble statue of Socrates, seated and resting his chin on his hand in thought, was created by the Greek sculptor Leonidas Drosis in 1885. It stands outside the Academy of Athens in Greece.

Why it matters

The statue was made nearly 2,300 years after Socrates lived, as part of modern Greece's effort to connect itself to its ancient philosophical heritage. By placing Socrates at a modern academy of learning, the sculptor and the people who commissioned the statue were claiming him as a founding figure of Greek identity and intellectual life.

Look closer

  • Why do you think Socrates is shown in a thoughtful pose rather than speaking or teaching?
  • What does it mean for a modern nation to build monuments to ancient figures?
  • How might this statue shape what people imagine Socrates looked like, even though no one alive today ever saw him?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Socrates on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Apology

Plato · c. 395 BC

Line engraving in a multi-line border showing a bust of a bearded man with curly hair and a furrowed brow, on a plinth. The label below reads SOCRATE. Lower right reads Landon direx.Painting

Secondary source

Line Engraving of Socrates by Landon

Charles Paul Landon

Cover of a 1925 Italian paperback, Platone, Dialoghi III, Critone, tan cardboard with red double border. Handwritten inscription at top, red handwritten marking near bottom. Publisher Vallecchi Editore Firenze.Book

Secondary source

Crito

Plato · c. 400 BC

Engraving of a bearded, balding bust of Socrates in an arched niche, set on a stone pedestal. Inscription below reads 'SOCRATES SOPHRONISCI FILIUS ATHENIESIS', with credits 'P.P. Rubens delin.' and 'P. Pontius sculpsit, 1638'.Painting

Secondary source

Socrates Engraving after Rubens by Pontius

Peter Paul Rubens · 1638

Black-and-white photograph of a white marble bust of a bearded man, shown from the front and slightly turned, with deep-set eyes, a curly beard and hair, against a dark background. The image is a glass lantern slide with labels reading Socrate and Université de Louvain.Photograph

Secondary source

Roman Marble Bust of Socrates

between 1839 and 1939

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