Socrates' Trial, Defense and Death | Early European History And Religion

SOCRATES CONDEMNED TO DEATH

Socrates (470?-399 B.C.) is considered the father of humanistic philosophy, the first person to really apply science to philosophical inquiry, and the founder of the Socratic question-and-answer method of inquiry. The Delphic Oracle described him as the wisest man in Greece. His student Plato said, he was an “an absolute unlikeness to any human being that is or ever was.” His Christlike martyrdom made spoke more loudly than his words and he became the first prophet of philosophy.

Socrates is considered by some to be the inventor of martyrdom. In 399 B.C., he was tried on the nebulous charges of "neglect of the gods," “introducing new divinities” and "corrupting the youth of Athens." Historians believe the charges were based on nothing more than Socrates propensity to stir up trouble and question authorities.

The charges against Socrates stemmed from a series events that began when the Delphi oracle pronounced Socrates as the wisest of men. Socrates began seriously questioning the existence of gods who would be behind such a judgment and set about proving them wrong by finding a man wiser than himself. He then went about calling people unwise who claimed to be wise.

The charges against Socrates also stemmed from his leadership of an executive committee of the Athenian version of the Senate which conducted an unruly debate when news of an important sea battle arose. Athens won the battle but word came that some of the generals in the battle abandoned their soldiers. Many legislators called for the generals to be put to death. Socrates refused on the grounds that such a death sentence would defy Greek law.

Last Days of Socrates

In 399 B.C., Socrates was tried in Athens on the nebulous charges of "neglect of the gods," “introducing new divinities” and "corrupting the youth of Athens." Historians believe the charges were based on nothing more than Socrates propensity to stir up trouble and question authorities.

Plato wrote in Euthyphro: Porch of the King Archon:
Euthyphro: Why have you left the lyceum, Socrates?
Socrates. Not in a suit, Euthyphro; impeachment is the word which the Athenians use.
Euthyphro: What! I suppose that some one has been prosecuting you, for I cannot believe that you are the prosecutor of another.
Socrates: Certainly not.
Euthyphro: Then some one else has been prosecuting you?
Socrates: Yes.
Euthyphro: And who is he? [Source: Euthyphro By Plato, written 380 B.C.,translated by Benjamin Jowett]

Socrates: A young man who is little known, Euthyphro; and I hardly know him: his name is Meletus, and he is of the deme of Pitthis. Perhaps you may remember his appearance; he has a beak, and long straight hair, and a beard which is ill grown.
Euthyphro: No, I do not remember him, Socrates. But what is the charge which he brings against you?
Socrates: What is the charge? Well, a very serious charge, which Meletus has brought a charge against Socrates. shows a good deal of character in the young man, and for which he is certainly not to be despised. He says he knows how the youth are corrupted and who are their corruptors. I fancy that he must be a wise man, and seeing that I am the reverse of a wise man, he has found me out, and is going to accuse me of corrupting his young friends. And of this our mother the State is to be the judge. Of all our political men he s the only one who seems to me to begin in the right way, with the cultivation of virtue in youth; like a good husbandman, he makes the young shoots his first care, and clears away us who are the destroyers of them. This is only the first step; he will afterwards attend to the elder branches; and if he goes on as he has begun, he will be a very great public benefactor.

Euthyphro: I hope that he may; but I rather fear, Socrates, that the opposite will turn out to be the truth. My opinion is that in attacking you he is simply aiming a blow at the foundation of the State. But in what way does he say that you corrupt the young?
Socrates: He brings a wonderful accusation against me, which at of first hearing excites surprise: he says that I am a poet or maker of gods, and that I invent new gods and deny the existence of old ones; this is the ground of his indictment.
Euthyphro: I understand, Socrates; he means to attack you about the familiar sign which occasionally, as you say, comes to you. He the thinks that you are a neologian, and he is going to have you up before the court for this. He knows that such a charge is readily received by the world, as I myself know too well; for when I speak in the assembly about divine things, and foretell the future to them, they laugh at me and think me a madman. Yet every word that I say is true. But they are jealous of us all; and we must be brave and go at them.

Socrates: Their laughter, friend Euthyphro, is not a matter of much consequence. For a man may be thought wise; but the Athenians, I suspect, do not much trouble themselves about him until he begins to impart his wisdom to others, and then for some reason or other, perhaps, as you say, from jealousy, they are angry.
Euthyphro: I am never likely to try their temper in this way.

Socrates: I dare say not, for you are reserved in your behaviour, and seldom impart your wisdom. But I have a benevolent habit of pouring out myself to everybody, and would even pay for a listener, and I am afraid that the Athenians may think me too talkative. Now if, as I was saying, they would only laugh at me, as you say that they laugh at you, the time might pass gaily enough in the court; but perhaps they may be in earnest, and then what the end will be you soothsayers only can predict.
Euthyphro: I dare say that the affair will end in nothing, Socrates, and that you will win your cause; and I think that I shall win my own.

Trial of Socrates

In Socrates trial there were no lawyers and Socrates defended himself, saying simply he was a humble seeker of truth. One by one his accusers, limited by the time established by a water clock, addressed the 501 member jury. His chief accuser, Meletus, was. Socrates said, “an unknown youth with straight hair and a skimpy beard.”

Socrates, then 70 years old, "gave a bumbling performance. He was no orator" said Historian M.I. Finley. In the trial, Socrates said that people were threatened by his self appointed role as "the gadfly of Athens." Socrates's questioning of the existence of the gods, cross-examination of conventional wisdom and criticizing of the government had won him many enemies. Some say he was used as a scapegoat for Athens' loss in the Peloponnesian War.

The jury found Socrates guilty by a vote of 281 to 220 and advocated the death penalty. Socrates was given an opportunity to suggest an alternative punishment. He said he deserved to be treated like an Olympic champion and receive a life-time pension. The jury was not amused and he was sentencing to die by drinking a cup off hemlock.

Socrates' Defense

The Opening Remarks of “The Apology of Socrates” in Plato’s “The Apology, Phædo and Crito”, which cover’s Socrates trial, reads: “How you, O Athenians, have been affected by my accusers, Icannot tell; but I know that they almost made me forget who I was so persuasively did they speak; and yet they have hardly uttered a word of truth. But of the many falsehoods told by them, there was one which quite amazed me; I mean when they said that you should be upon your guard and not allow yourselves to be deceived by the force of my eloquence. To say this, when they were certain to be detected Socrates begs to be allowed to speak in his accustomed manner. as soon as I opened my lips and proved myself to be anything but a great speaker, did indeed appear to me most shameless unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth; for if such their meaning, I admit that I am eloquent. But in how different a way from theirs! [Source: Plato. (427?–347 B.C.). “ The Apology, Phædo and Crito,” translated by Benjamin Jowett, The Harvard Classics, 1909–14]

Socrates's cell in the Athens Agora prison

“Well, as I was saying, they have scarcely spoken the truth at all; but from me you shall hear the whole truth: not, however, delivered after their manner in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases. No, by heaven! but I shall use the words and arguments which occur to me at the moment; for I am confident in the justice of my cause: at my time of life I ought not to be appearing before you, O men of Athens, in the character of a juvenile orator - let no one expect it of me. And I must beg of you to grant me favor: If I defend myself in my accustomed manner, and you hear me using the words which I have been in the habit of using in the agora, at the tables of the money-changers, or anywhere else, I would ask you not to be surprised, and not to interrupt me on this account.

“For I am more than seventy years of age, and appearing now for the first time in a court of law, I am quite a stranger to the e language of the place; and therefore I would have you regard me as if I were really a stranger, whom you would excuse if he spoke in his native tongue, and after the fashion of his country: Am I making an unfair request of you? Never mind the manner, The judges must excuse Socrates if he defends himself in his own fashion. which may or may not be good; but think only of thetruth of my words, and give heed to that: let the speaker speak truly and the judge decide justly.

Socrates Prepares For Death

Plato wrote in “The Apology, Phædo and Crito”: “When he had done speaking, Crito said: And have you any commands for us, Socrates--anything to say about your children, or any other matter in which we can serve you? Nothing particular, he said: only, as I have always told you, I would have you look to yourselves; that is a service which you may always be doing to me and mine as well as to yourselves. And you need not make professions; for if you take no thought for yourselves, and walk not according to the precepts which I have given you, not now for the first time, the warmth of your professions will be of no avail. [Source: Plato. (427?–347 B.C.). “ The Apology, Phædo and Crito,” translated by Benjamin Jowett, The Harvard Classics, 1909–14]

“We will do our best, said Crito. But in what way would you have us bury you? In any way that you like; only you must get hold of me, and take care that I do not walk away from you. Then he turned to us, and added with a smile: I cannot make Crito believe that I am the same Socrates who have been talking and conducting the argument; he fancies that I am the other Socrates whom he will soon see, a dead body--and he asks, “How shall he bury me? And though I have spoken many words in the endeavor to show that when I have drunk the poison I shall leave you and go to the joys of the blessed -- these words of mine, with which I comforted you and myself, have had, I perceive, no effect upon Crito. And therefore I want you to be surety for me now, as he was surety for me at the trial: but let the promise be of another sort; for he was my surety to the judges that I would remain, but you must be my surety to him that I shall not remain, but go away and depart; and then he will suffer less at my death, and not Thus we lay out Socrates, or, Thus we follow him to the grave or bury him; for false words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil. Be of good cheer, then, my dear Crito, and say that you are burying my body only, and do with that as is usual, and as you think best.

“When he had spoken these words, he arose and went into the bath chamber with Crito, who bade us wait; and we waited, talking and thinking of the subject of discourse, and also of the greatness of our sorrow; he was like a father of whom we were being bereaved, and we were about to pass the rest of our lives as orphans. When he had taken the bath his children were brought to him--(he had two young He takes leave of sons and an elder one); and the women of his family also his family. came, and he talked to them and gave them a few directions in the presence of Crito; and he then dismissed them and returned to us. Now the hour of sunset was near, for a good deal of time had passed while he was within. When he came out, he sat down with us again after his bath, but not much was said.

Socrates' death
“Soon the jailer, who was the servant of the Eleven, entered The humanity of the and stood by him, saying: To you, Socrates, whom I know jailer. to be the noblest and gentlest and best of all who ever came to this place, I will not impute the angry feelings of other men, who rage and swear at me when, in obedience to the authorities, I bid them drink the poison — indeed, I am sure that you will not be angry with me; for others, as you are aware, and not I, are the guilty cause. And so fare you well, and try to bear lightly what must needs be; you know my errand. Then bursting into tears he turned away and went out. Socrates looked at him and said: I return your good wishes, and will do as you bid. Then, turning to us, he said, How charming the man is: since I have been in prison he has always been coming to see me, and at times he would talk to me, and was as good to me as could be, and now see how generously he sorrows for me. But we must do as he says, Crito; let the cup be brought, if the poison is prepared: if not, let the attendant prepare some.

“Yet, said Crito, the sun is still upon the hilltops, and many Crito would detain a one has taken the draught late, and after the announcement Socrates a little has been made to him, he has eaten and drunk, and indulged while. in sensual delights; do not hasten then, there is still time. Socrates said: Yes, Crito, and they of whom you speak are right in doing thus, for they think that they will gain by the Socrates thinks that delay; but I am right in not doing thus, for I do not think that there is nothing to be I should gain anything by drinking the poison a little later; gained by delay. I should be sparing and saving a life which is already gone: I could only laugh at myself for this. Please then to do as I say, and not to refuse me.

“Crito, when he heard this, made a sign to the servant, and the servant went in, and remained for some time, and then returned with the jailer carrying a cup of poison. Socrates said: You, my good friend, who are experienced in these matters, shall give me directions how I am to proceed. The man answered: You have only to walk about until your legs are heavy, and then to lie down, and the poison will act. At the same time he handed the cup to Socrates, who in the easiest and gentlest manner, without the least fear or change of color or feature, looking at the man with all his eyes, Echecrates, as his manner was, took the cup and said: What do you say about making a libation out of this cup to any god? May I, or not? The man answered: We only prepare, Socrates, just so much as we deem enough. I understand, he said: yet I may and must pray to the gods to prosper my journey from this to that other world — may this, then, which is my prayer, be granted to me. Then holding the cup to his lips, quite readily and cheerfully he drank off the poison. And hitherto most of us had been able to control our sorrow; but now when we saw him drinking, and saw too that he had finished the draught, we could no longer forbear, and in spite of myself my own tears were flowing fast; so that I covered my face and wept over myself, for certainly I was not weeping over him, but at the thought of my own calamity in having lost such a companion. Nor was I the first, for Crito, when he found himself unable to restrain his tears, had got up and moved away, and I followed; and at that moment. Apollodorus, who had been weeping all the time, broke out a loud cry which made cowards of us all.

“Socrates alone in retained his calmness: What is this strange outcry? he said. I sent away the women mainly in order that they might not offend in this way, for I have heard that a man should die in peace. Be quiet, then, and have patience. When we heard that, we were ashamed, and refrained our tears; and he walked about until, as he said, his legs began to fail, and then he lay on his back, according to the directions, and the man who gave him the poison now and then looked at his feet and legs; and after a while he pressed his foot hard and asked him if he could feel; and he said, no; and then his leg, and so upwards and upwards, and showed us that he was cold and stiff. And he felt them himself, and said: When the poison reaches the heart, that will be the end. He was beginning to grow cold about the groin, when he uncovered his face, for he had covered himself up, and said (they were his last words) — he said: Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius; will you remember to pay the debt? The debt shall be paid, said Crito; is there anything else? There was no answer to this question; but in a minute or two a movement was heard, and the attendants uncovered him; his eyes were set, and Crito closed his eyes and mouth. Such was the end, Echecrates, of our friend, whom I may truly call the wisest, and justest, and best of all the men whom I have ever known.”

Death of Socrates

When the time of Socrates execution arrived Socrates asked his executioner what he was supposed to do after he drank the poison. The reply was "walk about until your eyes are heavy, then lie down, and the poison will act."

In “ Phaedo” , Plato wrote: "The man who was to administer the poison...held out the cup to Socrates. He took it...'I understand,' said Socrates; 'but I may and must pray to the gods and that my departure hence be a fortunate one; so offer this prayer, and may it be granted.' With these words he raised the cup to his lips and very cheerily and quietly drained it. Up to that time most of us had been able to restrain our tears fairly well, but when we watched him drinking and saw that he had drunk the poison, we could do so no longer, but in spite of myself my tears tolled down in floods, so I wrapped my face in my cloak and wept."

"Socrates...walked about and, when he said his legs were heavy, lay down on his back, or such was the advise of his attendant. The man who had administered the poison laid his hands on him and after a while examined his feet and legs, then pinched his foot hard and asked if he felt it. He said, 'No': then after that, his thighs; and passing upwards in this way he showed us that he was growing cold. And again he touched him and said that when it reached his heart, he would be gone. The chill had reached the region about his groin, and uncovering his face, which had been covered, he said — and these were his last words — 'Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepsius. Pay it and do not neglect it.'" The death of Socrates is seen by some as the end of the Golden Age of Greece. Archaeologists excavating a fifth century B.C. prison found vials used to hold toxin mostly likely similar to the one that killed Socrates.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, The Louvre, The British Museum

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Greece sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Hellenistic World sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; BBC Ancient Greeks bbc.co.uk/history/; Canadian Museum of History, Perseus Project - Tufts University; perseus.tufts.edu ; MIT Classics Online classics.mit.edu ; Gutenberg.org, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Live Science, Discover magazine, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, Encyclopædia Britannica, "The Discoverers" and "The Creators" by Daniel Boorstin. "Greek and Roman Life" by Ian Jenkins from the British Museum, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP and various books and other publications.

Last updated September 2024