“Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Do pay it. Don’t forget.”
These are reported, in Plato’s Phaedo, as the final words of Socrates before succumbing to death by state-imposed hemlock poisoning. But what exactly was he saying? Was this, as Nietzsche proposed in The Gay Science, the delirious ramblings of a man overtaken by fear and the creeping effects of poison?
Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing, was central to a cult that believed in divine cures. His symbol—a staff with a snake coiled around it—remains an icon of today's medical profession. According to myth, Zeus struck Asclepius down with a thunderbolt upon discovering he was restoring the dead to life in exchange for sacrifices. To Zeus, this violated the natural order.
Before drinking the poison, Socrates had remarked, “I may and must ask the gods to prosper my journey from this to the other world.” His final request for a sacrifice could be a way to ensure that prayer was answered. Or perhaps, as Nietzsche suggested, Socrates viewed life as a disease and death as the cure—a liberation from the passions and burdens of earthly existence.
Another possibility is that Socrates wished to thank Asclepius for the true healing he had found—not in physical wellness, but in the transformative power of philosophy. Through reason and virtue, he had overcome the maladies of ignorance, injustice, vice, and fear.
What Socrates almost certainly was not doing was hoping for a miraculous resurrection. His view of death, as portrayed in Phaedo, was one of acceptance, even anticipation.
Understanding Socrates
Context is everything. These words were spoken at the very end of the dying process. When Echecrates later asked about Socrates’ demeanor, Phaedo recalled,
"Although I was witnessing the death of one who was my friend, I had no feeling of pity, for the man appeared happy in both manner and words as he died nobly and without fear…” (58e)
Before drinking the poison, Socrates had prayed and asked that “the journey from here to yonder may be fortunate.” (117c) If Phaedo’s account is to be trusted, that wish had been granted. Socrates had lived virtuously, and now, in his final moments, he was dying virtuously. He took the cup of poison without hesitation, drank it without fear, and passed without regret. He had come to understand not only how to live well but also how to die well.
His unwavering commitment to truth and justice, even at the cost of his life, spoke louder than any argument he had ever made.
As he had told his accusers, “It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen; it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death.” (39b) Xenophon, another student of Socrates, later wrote him, “For it is agreed that none among recorded men bore death in a finer way.” (Memorabilia IV 8, 2ff)
Socrates’ final words reveal something profound. His request for a sacrifice acknowledges that his ability to die well was not merely his own achievement. He recognized that something beyond himself—some divine force—had made this possible. To Socrates, that force was Asclepius.
For us the lessons are clear. Not finishing well is worse than death. This is why Paul reminds us of his well-run race. Finishing well is more than just willpower because so many start strong who finish poorly. We need something greater than ourselves to end well.
For Christians, that “something” is not a mythological god but the true and living God. It is the work of Christ in us, the hope of glory. If Socrates could find strength in leaning upon a false pagan deity, how much more strength should we who believe find strength in Christ?
Unlike Socrates, we owe a debt we cannot repay. Thankfully, our debt has been fully paid through Christ, and now we have absolute confidence that our end will be much better than our beginning- we will live with Him forever!
Comments