page_title: Xanthippe
section_title: Character
hierarchical_section_title: Xanthippe / Character
caption_attribution_description: English: Xanthippe empties the chamber-pot over the head of Socrates. In the background a man is bullying an elderly couple in a sailing-ship. From Emblemata Horatiana, Imaginibus In Aes Incisis Atque Latino, Germanico, Gallico Et Belgico Carmine Illustrata by Otho Vaenius, 1607. Deutsch: Xanthippe leert den Nachttopf über den Kopf des Sokrates. Im Hintergrund; Mobbing ein älteres Ehepaar in einem Segelschiff. Von Emblemata Horatiana, Imaginibus In Aes Incisis atque Latino, Germanico, Gallico Et Belgico Carmine Illustrata von Otho Vaenius, inspiriert, 1607. Українська: Отто ван Веен ( 1769—1830 ), бл. 1607 р.«&#160;Ксантіпа знущається над філософом Сократом »,гравюра
context_page_description: Xanthippe was an ancient Athenian, the wife of Socrates and mother of their three sons: Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. She was likely much younger than Socrates, perhaps by as much as 40 years.
context_section_description: Plato's portrayal of Xanthippe in the Phaedo suggests that she was a devoted wife and mother; She is mentioned nowhere else in Plato.  Xenophon, in his Memorabilia, portrays her in much the same light, although he does make Lamprocles complain of her harshness. It is only in Xenophon's Symposium where we have Socrates agree that she is (in Antisthenes' words) "the hardest to get along with of all the women there are." Nevertheless, Socrates adds that he chose her precisely because of her argumentative spirit:
  It is the example of the rider who wishes to become an expert horseman: "None of your soft-mouthed, docile animals for me," he says; "the horse for me to own must show some spirit" in the belief, no doubt, if he can manage such an animal, it will be easy enough to deal with every other horse besides. And that is just my case. I wish to deal with human beings, to associate with man in general; hence my choice of wife. I know full well, if I can tolerate her spirit, I can with ease attach myself to every human being else.
  Perhaps this picture of Xanthippe originated with the historical Antisthenes, one of Socrates' pupils, since Xenophon initially puts this view into his mouth. Aelian also depicts her as a jealous shrew in his description of an episode in which she tramples underfoot a large and beautiful cake sent to Socrates by Alcibiades.  Diogenes Laërtius tells of other stories involving Xanthippe's supposed abusiveness.
  It seems that Xenophon's portrayal of her in his Symposium has been the most influential: Diogenes Laërtius, for example, seems to quote the Symposium passage, though he does not mention Xenophon by name, and the term "Xanthippe" has now come to mean any nagging scolding person, especially a shrewish wife.
  Later writers, such as Diogenes Laërtius who cite Aristotle as the earliest source, say that Socrates had a second wife called Myrto.  Plutarch tells of a similar story, reporting that it comes from a work entitled On Good Birth, but he expresses doubt as to whether it was written by Aristotle. In Plutarch's version of the story, Socrates, who was already married, attended to Myrto's financial concerns when she became a widow; this does not entail marriage. We have no more reliable evidence on this issue.
  An unconfirmed anecdote purports that Xanthippe was once so enraged with her husband that she took a chamber pot and poured it out over Socrates' head, which – according to the tale  – the philosopher accepted with the allegory: “After thunder comes the rain.”
caption: An emblem book print portraying Xanthippe emptying a chamber pot over Socrates, from Emblemata Horatiana illustrated by Otho Vaenius, 1607.
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