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Crito is an ancient Greek philosopher, and one of Socrates’s close friends. Although he rarely speaks in Phaedo, Crito is present during Socrates’s final hours. After Socrates drinks the poison hemlock, he turns to Crito and utters his last words, saying: “Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius; make this offering to him and do not forget.” As noted in Hackett Publishing’s 2011 edition of the text, “A cock was sacrificed to Asclepius [the god of medicine] by the sick people who slept in his temples, hoping for a cure. Socrates apparently means that death is a cure for the ills of life.” As such, Socrates’s final remark to Crito is both a sly joke and a reiteration of his acceptance of death.
Crito Quotes in Phaedo
The Phaedo quotes below are all either spoken by Crito or refer to Crito. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Phaedo Quotes
“Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius; make this offering to him and do not forget.” — “It shall be done,” said Crito, “tell us if there is anything else.” But there was no answer.
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Crito Character Timeline in Phaedo
The timeline below shows where the character Crito appears in Phaedo. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Phaedo
Phaedo begins his account of Socrates’s final hours. Along with a group of friends—including Crito, Cebes, and Simmias—he spends time in Socrates’s cell. Plato, he notes, is absent because he’s...
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...thinks a “better future” awaits him after death. Before he answers this, though, Socrates asks Crito what’s troubling him, and his friend says that the man mixing the poison for Socrates’s...
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Turning his attention to Socrates’s coming execution, Crito asks if he’d like his friends to do anything for his children once he’s gone....
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...toward his heart. Just as it reaches that vital organ, he utters his final words: “Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius; make this offering to him and do not forget.”...
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