Socrates, Bronze sculpture at Butler University, Indianapolis, US.
Socrates is a bronze portrait mask of the ancient philosopher, mounted on a limestone tablet on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis. The tablet sits within a small planted garden area with benches arranged around it.
Artist W.V. Casey created this work in 1950 as a tribute to the classical thinker. In 1993, the Smithsonian Institution recorded and documented it as part of its outdoor sculpture conservation program.
The inscriptions carved around the base bring together words from thinkers of different eras, all readable at close range. Benches placed nearby invite visitors to sit and read them at their own pace.
The sculpture sits in an open part of the Butler University campus and is easy to reach on foot. Clear daylight brings out the details of the bronze casting and the inscriptions on the tablet most clearly.
The limestone tablet carries an engraving about philosophers becoming kings, a thought that comes from Plato's writings rather than from Socrates himself. Socrates left no writings of his own, so everything known about his ideas came through others.
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