Book summary
Samenvatting van Kriton
- 9 min. leestijd
- 7 key ideas
- Binnenkort te beluisteren
At dawn in an Athenian prison, Crito begs Socrates to escape, and Socrates asks only whether escaping is right.
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Kriton in het kort
Samenvatting: 9 min leestijd
- Leestijd
- Ongeveer 20 min15 min fast, 25 min slow
- Lengte
- 4.700 woorden
- Bibliotheekniveau
- Gemiddeld longer sentences, everyday words
- Voor het eerst verschenen
- rond 390 v.Chr.by Plato
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Kriton in short
Crito is one early morning in a cell, told in questions and short answers. A faithful friend arrives with money, helpers and a plan, and he argues from shame, cost and the needs of children. Socrates replies kindly that none of that decides the matter.
What Kriton is about
It is dawn in an Athenian prison, and a man sits quietly beside a sleeper. The man is Crito, an old and loyal friend, and he has come with money, helpers and a plan. The sleeper is Socrates, condemned by an Athenian jury and waiting for a ship to return from Delos. Will he walk out of the door when it is held open for him?
Crito is a short dialogue by Plato, written after the death of his teacher. It holds one conversation between two friends in a cell, a man who is afraid and a man who is calm. Each step is agreed before the next is taken, so you can follow it by ear. You will hear Crito's case for escape, the reply of Socrates, and the laws of Athens speaking in their own voice.
Voor wie is het?. For readers who love a tight argument in a small space, who wonder what citizens owe their country, or who like to see a great thinker tested by a friend's plea.
The 7 key ideas
Key idea 1 · free to read
A calm sleeper and a friend in distress
The dialogue opens before sunrise in the prison where Socrates waits for his sentence to be carried out. His old friend Crito has slipped in and has been sitting by the bed for some time. Socrates wakes and is surprised that the guard let anyone in at such an hour. Crito explains that the man knows him well, because he comes often and has done him a favor.
Socrates asks why Crito did not wake him at once. Crito says he did not want to share such distress, and he has watched the peaceful sleep in amazement. He has never seen anyone bear such a disaster with so much ease. Socrates replies that a man of his age should not grieve as death draws near. Crito answers that other old men grieve all the same.
Then Crito brings his sad news. A ship is returning from Delos, and Socrates is to die the day after it arrives. Men from Sunium left the ship there, so Crito expects it today and fears tomorrow will be his friend's last day.
Socrates takes the news with ease. He predicts a one day delay, and his reason is a dream. A beautiful woman in bright clothing told him that on the third day he would reach fertile Phthia. Crito agrees the meaning is all too clear. Already the two men differ, for Crito reads events through fear and Socrates reads them through calm.
One side has money, plans and deep love. The other has the habit of testing every choice by reason, even now. Calm in the face of death is the ground on which the gravest choice will be weighed.
- 2Begin gratis met lezen
Crito pleads with money, shame and love
Crito begs once more for Socrates to take his advice.
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Follow the one who knows, not the crowd
Socrates answers kindly.
- 4Begin gratis met lezen
Living well means never doing wrong
Next Socrates asks Crito whether an old claim still stands.
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The laws speak as parents and teachers
Now Socrates asks whether leaving prison against the will of the Athenians would wrong anyone.
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Staying all your life is a promise
The laws now press a second argument, about agreement.
- 7Begin gratis met lezen
A voice that still rings in the ear
The laws end with their last appeal.
Read all 7 key ideas now
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Vragen over Kriton
What is Crito about?
Crito is a conversation in prison before dawn. Crito urges Socrates to escape, and Socrates tests the plan by asking whether it is just. The talk turns to public opinion, wrongdoing and what a citizen owes to the laws of the city.
Who are the speakers in Crito?
There are two speakers, Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito. Within the talk, Socrates also imagines the laws of Athens speaking to him, so the argument has a third voice that answers Crito's plea.
Is Crito based on a true story?
It draws on Socrates’ actual trial in Athens, and Plato belonged to his circle. Plato wrote the conversation himself, so scholars see it as his account of the spirit of Socrates and not a record of exact words.
What is the social contract in Crito?
The laws argue that citizens who see how Athens works and stay there agree in deed to obey it. They may leave freely, or they may persuade the city to change. Later thinkers used this idea in theories of the social contract.
Is Crito easy to read?
Crito is short and moves in plain questions and answers between two friends. Each step is agreed before the next begins, and the setting is a single cell at dawn, so the argument is clear to follow by ear or on the page.
Verwijs naar deze uitgave
Plato. Crito. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/crito.
Plato. (2026). Crito. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/crito (Original work published ca. 390 B.C.E.)
Plato. Crito. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/crito.
@book{plato2026crito,
author = {Plato},
title = {Crito},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/crito},
note = {First published ca. 390 BCE}
}
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