Socrates references to gods in the Apology were general and did not refer to any specific Athenian god (Grube, 2002, p.77). This is what he does for Athens: he keeps people from becoming intellectually lazy and forces them to be self-critical. Therefore, Socrates sought to find someone wiser than himself, so that he could take that person as evidence to the Oracle at Delphi.
Years earlier, in the play The Clouds (423 BCE), Aristophanes lampooned Socrates as a charlatan, the paradigm philosopher of atheist and scientific sophistry — carefully arranged arguments constructed of ornate words and phrases — misrepresented as wisdom. Socrates is the central figure in Plato's Dialogues that explores philosophical questions from a rationalist perspective. Apology, written by Plato, outlines what occurred during Socrates’ trial. Please choose a different delivery location. It is not surprising, then, that there are significant differences between Plato’s and Xenophon’s accounts of what was said at the trial. IvyPanda. According to Plato, people who underwent dialectical training were full of lawlessness (Brickhouse and Smith, 2002, p.49). After systematically interrogating the politicians, the poets, and the craftsmen, Socrates determined that the politicians were not wise like he was. In that vein, he tested the minds of politicians, poets, and scholars, for wisdom; although he occasionally found genius, Socrates says that he found no one who possessed wisdom; yet, each man was thought wise by the people, and each man thought himself wise; therefore, he thought he was the better man, because he was aware that he was not wise. Socrates believed in god, which was the main reason why he withstood great suffering. Free & fast delivery, movies and more with Amazon Prime.

Surely the last thing Plato would have wanted his readers to do with the Apology is to ignore its philosophical, religious, and political dimensions in order to concentrate solely on its accuracy as a piece of historical reportage. Socrates references to gods in the Apology were general and did not refer to any specific Athenian god (Grube, 2002, p.77). Socrates on Trial. According to Socrates, the old accusations resulted from people’s hatred because of his immense wisdom. In cross-examination, Socrates leads Meletus to contradict himself: that Socrates is an atheist who also believes in spiritual agencies and demigods. Although short, it offers an unforgettable portrait of Socrates, who comes across as smart, ironic, proud, humble, self-assured, and fearless in the face of death. answer! He prophesied that his death will cause the youngsters to come forward and replace him as a social gadfly, spurring ethical conduct from the citizens of Athens, in a manner more vexing than him(39d). The state of Athens treated victims of impiety with harshness because of two main reasons. Worse still, for a short time after the war, Athens was ruled by a bloodthirsty and oppressive group put in place by Sparta, the "thirty tyrants" as they were called. He says that the accusations of him being a corrupter of youth began at the time of his obedience to the Oracle at Delphi, and tells how Chaerephon went to the Oracle, to ask her, the Pythian prophetess, if there was a man wiser than Socrates. In his defense, Socrates stated that: “If I make one of my associates wicked I run the risk of being harmed by him” (Apology 25e). New York: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. There is no reason to suppose that Xenophon had learned of these aspects of the trial from Plato. The main reason why Socrates advanced his inquiry into the wisdom of the people of Athens was that he believed that god was using him to deliver important messages to the Athenian people (Helm, 1997, p.61). Although Aristotle later classified it as a genre of fiction,[4][5] it is still a useful historical source about Socrates (469–399 BCE) the philosopher.[6]. The state of Athens had adopted a law that was used in prosecuting people who did not believe in the state gods or people who taught about other gods that were not recognized by the state (Russon and Fagan, 2009, p.69). It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Religious scandal and the coup of the oligarchs, The perceived fragility of Athenian democracy. Outside the Apology, Socrates’ impiety was evident in the Euthyphro. Therefore, the philosopher Socrates of Athens asks his fellow citizens: "Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honour, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding, and the perfection of your soul?"(29e). It offers not just a defense of Socrates the man but also a defense of the philosophical life, which is one reason it has always been popular with philosophers! Socrates says to the court that these old accusations arise from years of gossip and prejudice against him; hence, are matters difficult to address. The other account we have of the trial, that of Xenophon, a contemporary of Socrates, is of a very different character. Plato : Apology. Socrates thought that the arguments of the men he examined were wanting, and when he said this, to not lose face, they would restate stock accusations against Socrates; that he is a morally abominable man who corrupts the youth of Athens with sophistry and atheism.
In addition, he claimed that it was impossible for anyone to believe in divine matters without believing in divine beings.

The Apology may be the closest we get to hearing Socrates himself. New York: Northwestern University Press. Despite his poverty, this was a minor punishment compared to the death penalty proposed by the prosecutors, and encouraged by the judges of the trial. He did not agree with their great reverence for the Athenian elders and the social structure that governed their lives at the time. From the Apology, it was evident that Socrates was impious because he did not believe in the Athenian gods (Grube, 2002, p.76). IvyPanda, 30 May 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/the-apology-by-plato-socrates-accusations/. In this way Plato lets us know that he was an eyewitness of the trial and therefore in the best possible position to write about it. The work was written by Plato who was present at the trial. His impiety went against the Athenian way of life and warranted execution. This was contrary to Meletus’ claim that Socrates did not believe in any gods. Background: Why was Socrates put on trial? Outside the Apology, Socrates’ impiety was evident in the Euthyphro.

He considered himself as a blessing among the people of Athens that was sent by the gods (Helm, 1997, p.58). If the corrupted Athenians are ignorant of having been corrupted, then why have their families not spoken on their behalf? There was no direct defense from Socrates on charges of impiety. (2020, May 30). IvyPanda. He was never interested in making money; not did he enter politics. Need a custom Term Paper sample written from scratch by Although offered the opportunity to appease the prejudices of the jury, with a minimal concession to the charges of corruption and impiety, Socrates does not yield his integrity to avoid the penalty of death. Athenians considered immorality as a direct result of impiety. Copyright © 2020 - IvyPanda is a trading name of Edustream Technologies LLC, a company registered in Wyoming, USA. It also gave him the reputation (unjustly, he says) of being a sophist, someone who was good at winning arguments through verbal quibbling. In the society of 5th-century BCE Athens, the three men who formally accused the philosopher Socrates of impiety and corruption against the people and the city, officially represented the interests of the politicians and the craftsmen, of the scholars, poets, and rhetoricians. But he stuck to his mission throughout his life.