Xerxes I · Socrates Were Xerxes I and Socrates alive at the same time? Yes. Xerxes I and Socrates were alive at the same time, from c. 470 BC to 465 BC. Xerxes IFifth Achaemenid emperorBorn 519 BC · died August 465 BC, aged 53 or 54Socrates5th-century BCE Greek philosopherBorn c. 470 BC · died 399 BC ConfuciusAeschylusXerxes ISophoclesHerodotusSocratesHippocratesAristophanes Xerxes I and Socrates in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.