Xanthippe

Xanthippe (/zænˈθɪpi/; Greek: Ξανθίππη, Greek pronunciation: [kʰsantʰíp̚pɛ͜ɛ]; 5th century – 4th century BCE) 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.

Xanthippe means "yellow horse", from the Greek ξανθός xanthos (blonde) and ἵππος hippos (horse). Hers is one of many Greek personal names with a horse theme (cf. Philippos "friend of horses", Hippocrates "horse tamer" etc.). The hippos in an ancient Greek name often suggested aristocratic heritage. One additional reason for thinking Xanthippe's family was socially prominent was that her eldest son was named Lamprocles instead of "Sophroniscus" (after Socrates' father): the ancient Greek custom was to name one's first child after the more illustrious of the two grandfathers. Xanthippe's father is believed to have been named Lamprocles. Since he was even more well-established in Athenian aristocracy than was Socrates' father, his name would have been the preferred choice for the name of the first-born son.

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 could be argued that this is fairly typical of an adolescent's views of a strict parent. 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:

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