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The Trial of Socrates (399 BC) was held to determine the veracity of two charges against the philosopher: one of corrupting the youth of the city-state and one for asebeia (impiety) against the pantheon of Athens. Specifically, the accusers cited two impious acts by Socrates: “failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges” and “introducing new deities”.

The death of Socrates was the political consequence of asking philosophical questions, from which resulted the two accusations of moral corruption and of impiety. At trial, the majority of the dikasts (Athenian citizens chosen by lot to serve as jurors) voted to convict him of the charges; consistent with common legal practice, after voting him guilty, the dikasts then voted to determine his punishment, and agreed to a sentence of death, to be executed by Socrates’s drinking a poisonous beverage of hemlock (Conium maculatum).

Primary-source accounts of the trial and execution of Socrates, are by Plato and Xenophon, who had been his students; contemporary interpretations include The Trial of Socrates (1988), by the journalist I. F. Stone, and Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths (2009), by the Classics scholar Robin Waterfield.

Background

In the years before his trial for corruption and impiety, the philosopher Socrates was a well known citizen of the city-state of Athens. In the comic play, The Clouds (423 BC), Aristophanes represents Socrates as a sophist philosopher who teaches a young man, Pheidippides, how to formulate arguments that justify beating his father. Despite his denying any affiliation with the Sophists, the play suggests that Athenians associated Socrates with the sophism. As philosophers, the Sophists had a uncertain reputation, “they were a set of charlatans that appeared in Greece in the fifth century, and earned ample livelihood by imposing on public credulity: professing to teach virtue, they really taught the art of fallacious discourse, and meanwhile propagated immoral practical doctrines.”

Clouds is not the only Aristophanes comedy which portrays conflict between an older man and his younger counterpart. Aristophanes’ comedy The Wasps (422 BC) also contains disagreement between older men and younger men. This, as Robin Waterfield argues, represents the social conflict between two generations of men in Athens, especially in the decade from 425 to 415 BC. He also suggests that the divide between those in favor of the Athenian invasion of Sicily and those opposed was largely a generational divide. Socrates, along with the sophists, was blamed in part by a significant segment of the citizenry for instilling the younger generation with what the older generation perceived as a morally nihilistic, disrespectful attitude.

No works by Socrates himself survived, but his younger friend Plato composed numerous 'Socratic dialogues', with Socrates as the main character. Socrates's elenctic examination was resented by influential figures of his day, whose reputations for wisdom and virtue were debunked by his questions.

One will sometimes find the claim that Socrates described himself as the "gadfly" of Athens which, like a sluggish horse, needed to be aroused by his "stinging". It should be pointed out, however, that in the Greek text of his defense given by Plato, Socrates never actually uses that term (viz., "gadfly" ) to describe himself. Rather, his reference is merely allusive, as he (literally) says only that he has attached himself to the City (proskeimenon tē polei) in order to sting it. Nevertheless, he does make the bold claim that he is a god's gift to the Athenians.

Socrates' elenctic method was often imitated by the young men of Athens.

Another possible source of resentment were the political views that he and his associates were thought to have embraced. Critias, who appears in two of Plato's Socratic dialogues, was a leader of the Thirty Tyrants (the ruthless oligarchic regime that ruled Athens for eight months in 404–403 BC), but there is also a record of their falling out.

As with many of the issues surrounding Socrates’ conviction, the nature of his affiliation with the Thirty Tyrants is far from straightforward. During the reign of the Thirty, many prominent Athenians who were opposed to the new government left Athens. Robin Waterfield asserts that “Socrates would have been welcome in oligarchic Thebes, where he had close associates among the Pythagoreans who flourished there, and which had already taken in other exiles.” Given the availability of a hospitable host outside of Athens, Socrates, at least in a limited way, chose to remain in Athens. Thus, Waterfield suggests, Socrates’ contemporaries probably thought his remaining in Athens, even without participating in the Thirty’s bloodthirsty schemes, demonstrated his sympathy for the Thirty’s cause, not neutrality towards it. This is proved, Waterfield argues, by the fact that after the Thirty were no longer in power, anyone who had remained in Athens during their rule was encouraged to move to Eleusis, the new home of the expatriate Thirty. Socrates did oppose the will of the Thirty on a few specific occasions. Plato’s Apology has the character of Socrates describe one such instance. He says that the Thirty ordered him, along with four other men, to fetch a man named Leon from Salamis so that the Thirty could execute him. Socrates simply did not answer this order, while the other four men did go to Salamis to get Leon.

Alcibiades, a controversial figure in Athens, was Socrates’ messmate during the siege of Potidaea (433–429 BC). Socrates remained Alcibiades' close friend, admirer, and mentor for about five or six years. Known for his flamboyant and audacious behavior, Alcibiades had a volatile relationship with the city of Athens. During his career, Alcibiades famously defected to Sparta after being accused in the defamation of the Mysteries, regained his political prominence in Athens, and was eventually driven out of Athens yet again. Some contempt for Socrates may have stemmed from his relationship with Alcibiades.

Moreover, according to the portraits left by some of Socrates' followers, Socrates himself seems to have openly espoused certain anti-democratic views, most prominent perhaps being the view that it is not majority opinion that yields correct policy but rather genuine knowledge and professional competence, which is possessed by only a few. Plato also portrays him as being severely critical of some of the most prominent and well-respected leaders of the Athenian democracy; and even has him claim that the officials selected by the Athenian system of governance cannot credibly be regarded as benefactors, since it is not any group of many that benefits, but only "some one person or very few". Finally, Socrates was known as often praising the laws of the undemocratic regimes of Sparta and Crete.

Apart from his views on politics, Socrates held unusual views on religion. He made several references to his personal spirit, or daimonion, although he explicitly claimed that it never urged him on, but only warned him against various prospective actions. Many of his contemporaries were suspicious of Socrates's daimonion as a rejection of the state religion.

Historical descriptions

The first tetralogy of dialogues by Plato, Socrates' student, has the trial and execution of Socrates as central theme: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito and Phaedo. Also Xenophon wrote the Apology of Socrates to the jury.

An Athenian rhetoric expert, Polycrates, also wrote a pamphlet called the Prosecution of Socrates in 392 BC. Although the contents of the pamphlet itself do not survive, we do have written replies to it by Xenophon and Libanius of Antioch. The pamphlet was supposedly a record of the prosecution speech made by Anytus, one of Socrates’ formal accusers. Polycrates’ account has Anytus condemning Socrates for activity prior to 403 BC, which would be in violation of general amnesty granted by the reconciliation agreement of 403/402 BC. The reconciliation agreement of 403/402 BCI certainly grants some form of amnesty for actions taken before or during the rule of the Thirty. However, the scope of the amnesty is unclear. Waterfield, among others, contends that the scope of the amnesty was quite limited, while many other scholars consider the amnesty comprehensive. For instance, Thomas R. Martin describes the amnesty as “general…under which all further charges and official recriminations concerning the terror were forbidden.” If the amnesty included all activity before 403 BC, it seems that we cannot trust Polycrates’ account. If the amnesty was actually more restricted, Polycrates’ account (or what we can glean from other sources discussing it) seems to be a more credible source.

The trial

Formal accusation was the second element of the trial of Socrates, which the accuser, Meletus, swore before the archon (a state officer with mostly religious duties) who considered the evidence and determined that there was an actionable case of “moral corruption of Athenian youth” and “impiety”, for which the philosopher must legally answer; the archon summoned Socrates for a trial by jury.

Athenian juries were drawn by lottery, from a group of hundreds of male-citizen volunteers; such a great jury usually ensured a majority verdict in a trial. Although neither Plato nor Xenophon identifies the number of jurors, a jury of 500 men likely was the legal norm. In the Apology (36a–b), about Socrates’s defence at trial, Plato suggests boundaries: that if just 30 of the votes had been otherwise, then Socrates would have been acquitted (36a), and that (perhaps) less than three-fifths of the jury voted against him (36b).

Having been found guilty of corruption and impiety, Socrates and the prosecutor suggested sentences for the punishment of his crimes against the city-state of Athens. Expressing surprise at the few votes required for an acquittal, Socrates joked that he be punished with free meals at the Prytaneum (the city’s sacred hearth), an honour usually held for a benefactor of Athens, and for the victorious athletes of an Olympiad. After that failed suggestion, Socrates then offered to pay a fine of 100 drachmae — one-fifth of his property — which largesse testified to his integrity and poverty as a philosopher. Finally, a fine of 3,000 drachmae was agreed, proposed by Plato, Crito, Critobulus, and Apollodorus, who guaranteed payment — nonetheless, the prosecutor of the trial of Socrates proposed the death penalty for the impious philosopher. (Diogenes Laertius, 2.42).

In the event, friends, followers, and students encouraged Socrates to flee Athens, which action the citizens expected; yet, on principle, Socrates refused to flout the law and escape his legal responsibility to Athens. (Crito) Therefore, faithful to his teaching of civic obedience to the law, the 70-year-old Socrates executed his death-sentence, and drank the hemlock, as condemned at trial. (See: Phaedo)

Ancient interpretations

Athens had just come through a difficult period, where a Spartan-supported group, called the Thirty Tyrants had overturned the city's participatory democracy and sought to impose oligarchic rule. The fact that Critias, the leader of the Tyrants, was one of Socrates's pupils was not seen as a coincidence.

His friends tried to make excuses, but the view of the Athenians was probably that expressed by the orator Aeschines some years later, when, in a prosecution speech, he wrote: "Did you not put to death Socrates the sophist, fellow citizens, because he was shown to have been the teacher of Critias, one of the Thirty who overthrew the democracy?"

Contemporary interpretations

The death of Socrates presented by Plato, has inspired the writers, artists, and philosophers of the world; for some, the execution of the man whom Plato called “the wisest and most just of all men” demonstrated the defects of democracy, of popular rule; for others, the actions of the Athenians were a justifiable defense of the recently re-established democracy.

In The Trial of Socrates (1988), said that Socrates wanted to be sentenced to death, in order to justify his opposition to the Athenian democracy, and because the philosopher saw that old age would be unpleasant.

In the play Socrates on Trial (2008), Andrew Irvine said that for loyalty to Athenian democracy, Socrates willingly accepted the guilty-verdict voted by the jurors of his trial. “During a time of war, and great social and intellectual upheaval, Socrates felt compelled to express his views, openly, regardless of the consequences. As a result, he is remembered today, not only for his sharp wit and high ethical standards, but also for his loyalty to the view that, in a democracy, the best way for a man to serve himself, his friends, and his city — even during times of war — is by being loyal to, and by speaking publicly about, the truth.”

Moreover, in Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths (2009), Robin Waterfield said that the death of Socrates was an act of volition motivated by a greater purpose; Socrates “saw himself as healing the City’s ills by his voluntary death”. That Socrates, with his unconventional, intellectual methods, attempted to resolve the political confusion then occurring in the city-state of Athens. Therefore, Socrates willingly was the scapegoat, so that Athens could set aside old disputes and progress towards political harmony and peace.

In May 2012, amid the unrest caused by the Greek government debt crisis, an international panel of judges and lawyers held a mock re-trial of Socrates in Athens. The split decision of five judges voting "guilty" and five voting "not guilty" resulted in an acquittal. The issue of sentences was not discussed, so as to restrict the discussion only to the facts of the case, but the judges voting to convict indicated they would not have been in favour of the death penalty.

See also

• Apology (Plato)
• Apology (Xenophon)
• Crito
• Euthyphro
• Meno
• Phaedo

References

1. Stone, I.F. (1988). The Trial of Socrates. New York: Little, Brown. Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths by Robin Waterfield, Norton, 2009
2. Kerferd, G.B.The Sophistic Movement. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.6.
3. ^ Waterfield, Robin. Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009.
4. Plato. Apology, 21d–e, 23a, 23e.
5. Plato. Apology, 30e–31a.
6. "Greek Word Study Tool". Perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
7. "Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, πρόσκειμαι". Perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
8. See the Greek text in H. N. Fowler, trans., Plato, vol. 1, “Euthyphro,” “Apology,” “Crito,” “Phaedo,” and “Phaedrus,” Loeb Classical Library (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1919), pg. 112
9. Plato. Apology, 31a-b
10. Plato. Apology, 23c.
11. Xenophon. Memorabilia, 1.2.29–38.
12. Plato. Apology, 32c.
13. Xenophon, Memorabilia 1.2.9; Plato, Crito 47c–d, Laches 184e.
14. Gorgias 503c–d, 515d–517c.
15. Apology of Socrates 25a-b.
16. Plato, Crito 52e.
17. Waterfield, Robin. Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths. New York, 2009. p. 196.
18. Martin, Thomas R. Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times. Yale University, 2009. p. 162.
19. Filonik, Jakub (2013). "Athenian Impiety Trials: A Reappraisal". Dike (16).
20. The second point is tenable if Socrates’s claim (36a–b) entails that Meletus, Lycon, and Anytus each was responsible for one-third of the votes against Socrates, who implies that Meletus failed to persuade less than one-fifth of the judges. The jury of 500 or 501 men, based either on Diogenes Laertius (2.41) or on the Aristotelian Athenaion Politeia (68). See P. Rhodes, 1981, Commentary on the Aristotelian "Athenaion Politeia", p. 729.
21. I.F. Stone. The Trial of Socrates, 1988.
22. Irvine, Andrew D. Introduction, Socrates on Trial, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008, 19
23. "Socrates acquitted in ancient trial re-run". Google/AFP. May 25, 2012. Archived from the original on January 30, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
24. The New Trial of Socrates. Onassis Cultural Centre

Further reading

• Allen, Reginald E. (1980). Socrates and Legal Obligation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
• Brickhouse, Thomas C. (1989). Socrates on Trial. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Brickhouse, Thomas C.; Smith, Nicholas D. (2002). The Trial and Execution of Socrates: Sources and Controversies. New York: Oxford University.
• Brickhouse, Thomas C.; Smith, Nicholas D. (2004). Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Plato and the Trial of Socrates. New York: Routledge.
• Cameron, Alister (1978). Plato’s Affair with Tragedy. Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati.
• Colaiaco, James A. (2001). Socrates Against Athens. New York: Routledge.
• Fagan, Patricia; Russon, John (2009). Reexamining Socrates in the Apology. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
• Filonik, Jakub (2013). "Athenian impiety trials: a reappraisal". Dike: rivista di storia del diritto greco ed ellenistico 16: 11–96.
• Hackforth, Reginald (1933). The Composition of Plato’s Apology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Irvine, Andrew David (2008). Socrates on Trial: A play based on Aristophanes' Clouds and Plato's Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, adapted for modern performance. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-9783-5 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-8020-9538-1 (paper); ISBN 978-1-4426-9254-1 (e-pub)
• Kamtekar, ed., Rachana (2005). Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
• Kraut, Richard (1984). Socrates and the State. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University.
• McNeal, Richard A. (1992). Law and Rhetoric in the Crito. New York: Peter Lang.
• Reeve, C.D.C. (1989). Socrates in the Apology. Indianapolis: Hackett.
• Stokes, Michael C. (2005). Dialectic in Action: An Examination of Plato's Crito. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales.
• Stone, I.F. (1988). The Trial of Socrates. New York: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-81758-5. OCLC 16579619.
• Waterfield, Robin (2009). Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths. New York: Norton.
• Weiss, Roslyn (1998). Socrates Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato's Crito. New York: Oxford University.
• West, Thomas G. (1979). Plato’s Apology of Socrates. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
• Woozley, A.D. (1979). Law and Obedience: The Arguments of Plato's Crito. London: Duckworth.

External links

• University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) School of Law, The Trial of Socrates
• Socrates This page includes photographs of archaeological remains, including containers which may have held the hemlock that Socrates drank.

v t e Socrates
Bibliography Cultural depictions
Life	Trial of Socrates Socratic problem
Concepts	Social gadfly Socratic dialogue Socratic intellectualism Socratic irony Socratic method Socratic paradox Socratic questioning
Phrases	"I know that I know nothing" "The unexamined life is not worth living"
Family	Sophroniscus (father) Phaenarete (mother) Xanthippe (wife) Lamprocles (son) Menexenus (son) Myrto (wife)
Works that include Socrates	Art Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca (3rd-century sculpture) The Death of Socrates (1787 painting) Socrates (1950 sculpture) Stage The Clouds (423 BC play) Der geduldige Socrates (1721 opera) Socrates (1759 play) Socrate (1919 oratorio) Socrates on Trial (2007 play) Literature De genio Socratis (1st-century essay) On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates (1841 thesis) The Plot to Save Socrates (2006 novel) Other Serenade after Plato's "Symposium" (1954 serenade) Barefoot in Athens (1966 film) Socrates (1971 film) Dialogues Plato Apology Axiochus Charmides Clitophon Cratylus Critias Crito Demodocus Epinomis Eryxias Euthydemus Euthyphro First Alcibiades Gorgias Hipparchus Hippias Major Hippias Minor Ion Laches Lysis Menexenus Meno Minos On Justice On Virtue Parmenides Phaedo Phaedrus Philebus Protagoras Republic Rival Lovers Second Alcibiades Sisyphus Sophist Statesman Symposium Theaetetus Theages Timaeus Xenophon Apology Memorabilia Oeconomicus Symposium Other Halcyon Socratic Letters
Related	Euthyphro dilemma Form of the Good Peritrope Religious skepticism
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• Ancient Greek law
• Socrates
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• Trials in Greece
• 399 BC
• History of Classical Athens
• Persecution of philosophers