The essential quartet on the last days of Socrates. Plato, from Athens, who laid the foundations of the Western philosophical tradition and is ranked among its greatest representatives, was born into a prosperous and politically active family around 427 BC. In his early life, he was an admirer of Socrates and later founded the first higher educational institution in the West, the Academy, among whose many notable graduates was Aristotle. Tradition attributes to Plato thirty-five dialogues that develop Socrates' dialectical method and are written with great stylistic perfection, along with the "Apology" and thirteen letters. The four works in this volume narrate the circumstances of Socrates' trial and execution in 399 BC. In "Euthyphro," which takes place weeks before the trial, Socrates and Euthyphro attempt to define piety. In the "Apology," Socrates responds to his accusers at the trial and unapologetically defends his philosophical journey. In "Crito," a discussion on justice and injustice explains Socrates' refusal to accept Crito's offer to finance his escape from prison. And in "Phaedo" Socrates discusses the concept of the afterlife and offers arguments for the immortality of the soul. This edition, which replaces the original Loeb edition by Harold North Fowler, offers text, translation, and notes that are fully updated in accordance with contemporary research.