Born in the last years of the 5th century BCE, Phaedo was a native of
Elis and of high birth. He was taken prisoner in his youth, and passed into the hands of an Athenian slave dealer; being of considerable personal beauty, he was
forced into
prostitution. The occasion on which he was taken prisoner was no doubt the war between
Sparta and Elis, 402–401 BCE, in which the Spartans were joined by the Athenians in 401 BCE. Two years would have been available for Phaedo's acquaintance with
Socrates, to whom he attached himself. According to
Diogenes Laërtius he was ransomed by one of the friends of Socrates. The
Suda says that he was accidentally present at a conversation with Socrates, and pleaded with him to effect his liberation. Various accounts mention
Alcibiades,
Crito, or
Cebes, as the person who ransomed him. Phaedo appears to have lived in Athens for a short time after the death of Socrates. He then returned to Elis, where he became the founder of a school of philosophy. His disciples included
Anchipylus,
Moschus, and
Pleistanus, who succeeded him. Subsequently
Menedemus and
Asclepiades transferred the school to
Eretria, where it was known as the
Eretrian school and is frequently identified (e.g. by
Cicero) with the
Megarian school. ==Works==