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Socrates 470-399 BC
Socrates was Athens' controversial philosopher.
Plato and
Xenophon
were big fans.
Socrates was 70 years old when he was
brought to trial and sentenced to death. The year? 399 BC.
What had happened?
Socrates' Trial
Historians still scratch their heads.
What we do know is what 3rd century (AD) Greek writer Diogenes
Laertius reported live:
This indictment and affidavit is sworn by Meletus, the son of
Meletus of Pitthos, against Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus of
Alopece:
Socrates is guilty of refusing to
recognize the gods recognized by the state, and of introducing
new divinities.
He is also guilty of corrupting the
youth.
The penalty demanded is death.
There exist two reports on the events
that were written by contemporaries of Socrates -
Plato's
Apology
and
Xenophon's
Apology. Plato was an eyewitness to the trial.
Xenophon was not.
By the way, the English word apology
has its roots in the Greek word apologia, which means a
speech in defense. The word is not used in the sense of how we
would use it today. Therefore, the title of Plato's and
Xenophon's accounts, Apology, does not refer to an excuse of
an incident or course of action on Socrates' part.
A jury of 500 men voted in favor of the
death penalty. Socrates was executed by poison.
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