Plutopowered

Why is it easier to prove the existence of Socrates since neither Jesus nor Socrates had any writings of their own?

It seems like those that were around Socrates were at least contemporaries. Jesus' disciples started writing later. What other differences are there?

Civil1z@tion

Socrates has independent evidence of his existence beyond just his followers (for instance, Aristotle riped Socrates/Plato a new one in The Politics). Jesus didn't (unless you want to count two tampered with Josephus quotes).

Toto

It isn't that much easier to prove that Socrates existed. But no one seems to worry very much about whether Socrates existed or was just a literary convention.

Doug Shaver

I have a few comments on that topic on my Web site.
http://dougshaver.com/christ/socrates/socrates.html

mountainman

Dear Doug,

That was a well expressed essay. Apollonius of Tyana might be an interesting fourth comparitive subject (I note you already have two others lined up).

Best wishes,


Pete

Plutopowered

Thanks for the interesting article...

gentleexit

The article's crisp, good focus on proximity of sources. Socrates walks and talks. Jesus only floats.

As mountainman said, Apollonius is a good match for Jesus (and the ancients thought so too, though they were comparing holiness, not reality). I think Pythagoras is even better. He too had "biographies" with miraculous happenings but also had followers, right to the end of antiquity.