Socrates

There are hints that Socrates was not like other Greeks in more than the obvious way. There are indications that he was not fond of wine and found it to have its downsides. Greeks held drinking parties, or symposia, where much wine was drunk and important issues discussed and debated. The participants at these gatherings were generally wealthy, elite and intellectual. The symposium was a venue for these individuals to demonstrate their brilliance and knowledge.

The most famous one of all was Plato’s Symposium in which love, among other topics, was discussed. After an entire night of drinking, the last man standing was Socrates. Either the wine didn’t impact him or he didn’t drink as much as the others. While everyone else had passed out, Socrates was not effected and left to attend to his daily business.

Plato had portrayed Socrates as creating an...