Did Philosophy Predict Jesus 400 Years Before the Crucifixion? The Just Man in The Republic

Added: 2026-05-04

In Plato's Republic (Book II), Glaucon describes a thought experiment where a perfectly just man would suffer extreme torture and execution, including being 'crucified' (using the Greek term anaskinduleuthesetai, meaning impaled on a stake), while an unjust man would receive honors and rewards. This passage, written over 400 years before Christ's crucifixion, was interpreted by early Church Fathers like Clement of Alexandria and St. Augustine as Plato's philosophical anticipation of Christ's passion, with Augustine seeing the just man as emblematic of Christ and Aquinas viewing philosophy as a subordinate science pointing toward divine truth.