The "Apology" by Plato is a story about Socrates, who defended himself against accusers. Socrates was one of the greatest thinkers in ancient Greece and one of the few whose wisdom was noticed. From this story we can learn who Socrates was and what kind of life he had lived. To understand why Socrates deserved to be executed, we should have a view of times before execution. I will provide a brief opening statement.
What was Socrates Defense? Why was he convicted? Why was he sentenced to death? Socrates was accused of corrupting the young, impiety them and disbelieving in god. His punishment was death, so he apologized as his defense and the court didn’t believe him, he was sentenced to death because of the way he thinks, misleading character, and indiscriminate in his actions.
Socrates last speech Socrates was one of the greatest ancient Athenian philosopher and one of the founders of Western philosophy; he was very famous for creating an argument about ethical concepts and questioning about supernatural powers. Most of Socrates works was collected and wrote by his students like Plato. Socrates was put on a trial as he was charged by his accusers because he was responsible for corrupting the youth. Plus, his impious acts because he does not believe in the gods that the city acknowledges as he introduced new deities and new ideas about gods. During the trial Socrates divided the audience into two groups his accusers and his supporters, and he said different words for each of them.
Through many of Plato’s works, such as the Republic, the Gorgias, and the Apology, the person that Socrates was and his personality shine through in his dialogue. Socrates was a man who asked many questions and always pushed not only his students but the whole city of Athens to look for more than just physical things. Many people claim, that Socrates went about teaching in the wrong way and that he is an arrogant fool and not an extremely wise person. However, I disagree with this claim. I believe that Socrates was a man who looked beyond the physical world and strived to gain as much knowledge as he could through asking questions and continuing to learn from others and in turn teach others, thus making him wise and striving to live the best life.
Socrates, an Athenian philosopher of Ancient Greece, a man of great wisdom and knowledge, was put to death at trial, by the accusation of impiety, and corrupting the youths of society. “The Apology” written by Plato, the Defence of Socrates as it would sound, gives us an overview of what happened at the trial. Socrates had a few accusations up against him and they weren 't that simple to defend against, but that did not stop him, he came prepared and knew what he was in for, that gave him the upper hand and he was able to successfully and flawlessly defend against any accusation and statement that the accusers sent out against him. The main Accuser was Melytus, he was supported by most of the assembly and his two compatriots Anytus and Lycon.
In Plato’s dialogue Apology, Socrates is standing trial for two crimes; impiety and corrupting the youth. During the three speeches Socrates delivers during his trial he discusses why he is fearless when faced with many of the things humans fear most, including being hated, accused of serious crimes, being threatened with punishment, and being put to death. Being Hated To begin, Socrates does not fear being hated because he understands that the reason why he is disliked is due to his attempt to understand the underlying meaning behind the Oracle of Delphi’s prophecy. When Socrates addresses the anticipated questions about his reputation, he tells the jury the story of his friend Chaerephon who went to the Oracle of Delphi and asked if
For many centuries, many people continuously have two different stances in the Crito, which is one of the several Platonic dialogues. After pleading guilty in a trial and being sent to prison for the injustice of corrupting the youth’s mind, which he did not commit, Socrates is given the chance to decide whether to escape prison or not. Some believe that it was more righteous for Socrates to follow the Athenian laws and face his punishment. Others believe that he should not have suffered and have his last remaining moments unfairly taken from him. Despite the fact that Socrates accepted his penalty, he should have left with Crito because the trial was, overall, unfair.
He ended up believing and teaching things to other people, whether it went against the way the Athen government or not, he still continued his work. Making enemies and becoming the topic of conversation, the Athenians began to view Socrates as a threat to their beliefs and way of life and sought to end it. In order to end this, Socrates was accused of blasphemy (Mod1SlideC7). Socrates’s accusers took him to court and after Socrates did not play their game by asking to be sent into exile, and in the end, he was sentenced to death. After reading the textbook and Plato’s writing influenced by Socrates, I realized that in the period of his life Socrates was indeed truly a threat to the Athens society, because he looked for answers that no one else bothered to find which challenged their culture.
And likewise, “one should never do wrong in return, nor do any man harm, no matter what he may have done to you.”(49d) It is from this argument that Socrates outlines why he must not escape, for it would be to wrong the city that made him. No matter what the city may have done to him, he must never act against it in retaliation. Socrates bases this view of justice on the worth of living a good life. “And is life worth living for us with that part of us corrupted by unjust actions” (47e) If we corrupt our soul with injustice, our life would not be worth living, therefore one must never commit an injustice. “When one has come to an agreement that is just with someone, one should fulfill it.”(49e) It is this agreement with the Laws that Socrates would be violating, if he were to
Telling the courts what they wanted to hear was immoral and against Socrates’ philosophy and morality. Doing so would result in a weak soul that is full of ignorance. Socrates had developed an understanding that came from within. This gave him