The Persecution Of Socrates During The Golden Age Of Athens

When people think of Athens, most think about its Golden Age when the city-state flourished under the leadership of Pericles. Events such as the Peloponnesian Wars led to Athens overall defeat and decline of their reign. Athens was known for strongly worshipping its deities and establishing laws to protect them. Although many people in that time supported the way Athens was ruled, there were philosophers, who challenged Athens’s culture and traditions. One of those philosophers was Socrates, who denied that he was going against the worshipping of the deities of Athens and changing the perspective of how people should lead their lives. He taught the youth pro bono in the streets about virtue and wisdom. However, his intelligence and demeanor

The jurors of Athens molded the way modern juries are run in society, and giving citizens the opportunity to defend themselves in trial, a room of the defendant’s fellow citizens who had a say in whether the accused was guilty or not. During the Golden Age of Athens citizens over the age of 30 were the only people in Athens who had a right to actively participate and have representation in the government and verdicts regarding a case . Over 501 jurors were present during the trial of Socrates. Each of the members represented a vote, so if one was to be convicted during the Golden age of Athens one must convince a clear majority of jurors. This proved to be very difficult if the one being accused is not favored by the citizens. In the article the classical Journal Lofberg

When for some other reason it was declared to suppress somebody, a charge of unorthodoxy was a facile means to excite the prejudices of the average citizens who served in the jury courts…The bearing of this theory on the case of Socrates is easily seen. Socrates was an inveterate of democracy.”

There was no written law that went against free thinking or promoting it to others. Socrates noticed the system of democracy for the Golden Age of Athens was flaw and that he was not fully approving the form of democracy during his trial.

One of Socrates’ alleged crimes was not worshipping the deities. The gods were a symbol of strength and purity to the people of Athens. To not acknowledge them was a sign of disrespect and defiance to the Athenian culture. In the Apology of Socrates by Plato, this philosopher reflects on Socrates’ statement to the court saying,

“Those, men of Athens, who have scattered c this report about, are my dangerous accusers. For their listeners hold that investigators of these things also do not believe in gods. Besides, there are many of these accusers, and they have been accusing for a long time now. Moreover, they spoke to you at the age when you were most trusting, when some of you were children and youths, and they accused me in a case that simply went by default, for no one spoke in my defense”