How Did Socrates Die In The Apology

The bum, the weird annoying guy, the holy saint figure that is Socrates, wasn’t truly loved by the people of Athens (Class Notes). Although he may have had his enemies, he was lucky enough to have many close friends and acquaintances including a mysterious, unknown wife, who he had the privilege to have a child with (Crito 45c). His close friends are present at his trial to provide financial resources to pay for fines when society vowed to murder him (Apology 38b & Class Notes). As seen in Crito and in the Apology, Socrates could have saved himself from his own death by accepting the generous offers from his close friends; however, through debates with his friends he decides not to and proceeds with imprisonment and prepares for his eventual death. Socrates has a responsibility to respect the opinions of the people in Athens. For Socrates, it is in his best interest to honor the decision, this being execution, set out by the jury of Athens, and thus respect the laws, for he has supposedly dishonored them. In addition, when Crito deciphers a plan to free Socrates from imprisonment, Socrates refuses, believing he would be lying to his fellow Athenians since in the Apology he valued death over exile

During his prosecution, Socrates is granted the option to choose his own fate by stating what kind of punishment he should receive (Class Notes). According to Socrates, a typical punishment of a fine and exile will have no effect on his behaviour as he has no money to pay for fines and he will simply be “driven out from one city for another” if he is exiled from Athens (37c-e). When the jurors unanimously vote for the death penalty, Socrates, having no fear for death, accepts the penalty and says, “it was better for me to die now and to escape from trouble” (Apology 41d). In Crito, Socrates has to stick to his word of preferring death over exile as it will contradict to what he has previously