Glaucon - Biography

Biography

Glaucon was the older brother of Plato, and like his brother was amongst the inner circle of Socrates’ young affluent students. Although little is known about his life, some information can be extrapolated from his brother’s writings and from later Platonic biographers.

He was born in Collytus, just outside of Athens most likely before the year 445 BC (as he was old enough to serve in the Athenian army during the Battle of Megara in 424 BC).

His father was Ariston and his mother was Perictione. According to Diogenes Laërtius’ Life of Plato, Plato and Glaucon had a sister named Potone, and a brother named Adeimantus. In the dialogue Parmenides, a half-brother named Antiphon is also referenced.

According to the Oxford Greek Dictionary the name “Glaucon” is derived from the adjective glaukommatos (γλαυκόμματος) meaning “bright-eyed”, “owl-eyed”, or “grey-eyed”. This is generally considered to be a devotion to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and namesake and guardian deity of the city of Athens. It is not clear whether “Glaucon” was a name given at birth, an epithet for adoration of the goddess, or a nickname given for “looking for wisdom”. The use of epithets was not uncommon: for example, Plato’s birth name was Aristocles, but he was called the “wide” (platon) due either to his physical build or the breadth of his virtues.

Glaucon and at least one of his brothers fought against the Megarians in the Battle of Megara where the Athenians were defeated in 424 BC. This was during the height of the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and their allies. The brothers are commended for their “godlike” virtues in battle and for the strength of the bloodline by Socrates in the Republic.

It is not clear what Glaucon did for a living (if anything, as theirs was an aristocratic family). However, Socrates does say that Glaucon is a musician and thus can correctly answer questions about musical theory and harmonic proportion. This may also imply that, like many Athenians at the time including Plato himself, Glaucon studied the musical and mathematical theories of Pythagoras at some point.

Information on Glaucon’s life after the death of Socrates is unknown. As Plato’s dialogues of Socrates do not refer to Glaucon’s passing, he most likely died in or around Athens sometime after Socrates’ death in 399 BC.