Analysis Of The Defence Of Socrates

The Defence of Socrates chronicles Socrates’ trial, which the elite members of Athenian society

conducted in order to determine whether or not Socrates was guilty of the charges against him. Those

charges included: 1) refusing to believe in the gods of the City; 2) corrupting the youth; and 3)

introducing gods of his own in place of the Athenian deities. Although Socrates believed, along with his

loved ones, Plato, and his students, that he was wrongly accused and was served an injustice by the City

of Athens, he is forced to defend himself and his actions at trial. During the course of his “apology,” it is

evident that Socrates’ pride leads him to advocate more for his philosophy and his goal of prevention of

ignorance than for

In fact, when the jury asks Socrates what he believes his

punishment should be, he imprudently replies, “What counter-assessment should I propose to you,

gentlemen of the jury? …Nothing is more suitable, gentlemen, than for such man to be fed in the

Prytaneum much more suitable for him than for any one of you who has won a victory at Olympia with a

pair or a team of horses” (Defence of Socrates 18). Socrates does not take the jury’s question seriously

and responds with sarcasm and humor. This response only provides greater incentive for the jury to

sentence him to death. Additionally, if he had appealed to their emotions in his defense and mentioned the

hurt that his friends and soon-to-be orphan children would endure if he was sentenced to death, the jury

would have been more sympathetic and forgiving in his sentencing. Instead, Socrates deliberately