As related by Plato, Socrates, while awaiting execution in jail, had a dream three days before his death. It was an arousal dream triggered by the visit of Crito, who tried once more to persuade Socrates to flee. The stimulus signal mobilized the conflict between escape and glorious death. The dream, the guardian of sleep, gently resolved this conflict by integrating the wish to

escape, the announcement of death, and reunion with the mother. The quotation from Homer within the dream documents Socrates's identification with Achilles. By utilizing traditional data on Socrates's family history and referring to Gomperz's earlier work, Specht traces the genesis of this identification and the role it played in the evolution of Socrates's ethos and style of thought.