How Did Socrates Put On Trial

The jury of 500 was way more than the 6 to 12 members we see serving in courts today but the jury still allows the trial to be fair and gets the judgements of several people rather than having 1 person make a decision. The 3 prosecutors had the floor for 3 hours and then Socrates had his chance to speak for 3 hours. In socrates case, the jury voted on ballot disks and he was found guilty ona 280 to 220 vote. Which is very similar to modern day when the 2 sides go back and forth questioning witnesses or the suspect themselves and then the jury forms their decisions. After proven guilty, in modern trials and in socrates trial, the prosecutor suggests a penalty for the criminal.

In addition, Socrates was found guilty by a jury of 501 of his peer for several reasons—he was exceedingly arrogant and tactless, he did not take the trial earnestly, he was a “repeat” criminal, and according to Fitzpatrick, he was above all a nuisance to the community of Athens. Socrates was an elderly man of seventy

Justice and court cases in Athenian democracy had become a place for taking revenge during Socrates trial. A trial in Athens was a speech competition in which opposing parties gave speeches to persuade the general public, in other words the jury of 500, that you had the magic in your words to win your case. Socrates’ accusers charge him of many official and unofficial charges; such as corrupting the youth and making the smaller argument larger. However, Socrates was not guilty of any of the charges made against him, mainly because they were made out of hatred towards Socrates and the new philosophy of life that Socrates had unveiled to the naked eye of the, “men of Athens” (Apology, 18b). Once Socrates finds out about his wisdom he sets out to test it, by asking various people of Athens, questions about the philosophy of life, virtue, and wisdom.

The true purpose of this charge was revenge carried out on the part of the leaders of the Athenian society. By being a teacher but never collecting any money, Socrates innocent for he did not profit from such projects. He was said to have been corrupting citizens of Athens into thinking that these so called “people of wisdom” were not actually that knowledgable and wise at all. However, in what I have seen there is no evidence that the youth is damaged in any way. I agree that waiting multiple years to find out whether Socrates’ words were actually causing corruption is pointless, especially considering how old Socrates’ was at the

They had suffered defeat in the second Peloponnesian War and were grappling with the struggle of stabilizing their fragile democracy. They believed that something like political philosophy could destabilize Athens beyond repair. This is part of what drove them to execute Socrates. Socrates was brought up on charges of corrupting the youth, making the worse argument better, and teaching things of the earth and the sky. During the trial, Socrates had every justification, but in the end, it was not enough to save his life.

Unfortunately, Socrates was accused of impiety and corruption of the youth. Consequently, the courts believed that Socrates was most likely disbelieving their traditional gods and forcing the youth to do the same thing, which is why he was facing the corruption of youth charge. Many people did not like his constant questioning and eventually even the people closest to him turned their backs on him. In the end, Socrates was found guilty of all charges and was facing death by having to drink poison. Socrates could have asked for an alternate sentence, but his principles would not allow it.

This charge was partly brought to Socrates because of his claims to lead by an inner "daemon." Since ancient Greece's religion and laws were intertwined, this could've been problematic for many persons in power at the time. Socrates seemingly threatened to undermine the system in which benefited the societies elite. Since, the citizens (500) in his jury were picked at random and were also from the lower classes, all that was needed by the prosecutor(s) is to persuade the jury that Socrates views threatened to undermine society. Infact, this inner "daemon" was actually Socrates's own intuition.

Throughout the trial, Socrates uses very colloquial diction, frequently verbally attacking the jury for enforcing such unenlightened laws. For example, Socrates likens the jury to “the comedy of Aristophanes” citing their absolute “slander” against him (Apology 19b). He later claims that his “whole care is to commit no unjust or impious deed,” explaining how he has been falsely accused of a truly absurd crime (Apology 32d). Socrates practices what he preaches during the trial, showing how free speech and due process should coexist. While he shows a decent amount of disrespect for the jury, ultimately, he accepts the punishment given: time in jail and a death sentence. In essence, he respects the rule of law, saying that “the law must be obeyed” during the trial (Apology 19a). In Crito, a dialogue between Plato and Socrates following the trial and sentencing, Socrates says that attempting to escape prison would be unethical and unbeneficial to society, explaining that “it would be out of tune” (Crito 43b). Later, I will argue that a lot of the themes that Socrates espouses are consistent with 21st century western republics.

Towards the end of Socrates' defense he states, " They enjoy hearing these being questioned who think they are wise, but are not." Socrates is telling the jury that he has been honest with them and that he does not corrupt the youth, the youth and others follow him around for the reason in quotations. This was Socrates' defense.

Despite the controversies revolving around the trial of Socrates, the puzzle denotes all the greater having the fact that Socrates taught without molestation during his adult life. As recounted, the charges on Socrates’ trial were declared as follows: “Socrates does criminal wrong by not recognizing the gods that the city recognizes, and furthermore by introducing new divinities, and he also does criminal wrong by corrupting the youth.” Socrates believed in gods or a God and in the afterlife of the soul. He often made reference to "God" in the singular but all the same spoke of "gods." He reasoned that an intelligent existence was behind the synthesis of the universe, an argument that tempted many later on philosophers. The best prayer he said,

The third issue Socrates was found guilty was because he was assumed to have polluted the children of Athens. This meant Socrates was damaging the minds of the future of Athens and this charge was not taken lightly.

Socrates went before the jury to lay his case, he was overwhelmed with the lies told about him and how persuasively they went about deceiving the people of Athens, he told the jurors he was before them to tell the truth and prove his accusers wrong and trust in justice, it would not be fitting at his age to come before them and lie.

When evaluating the reasoning behind the arguments of Socrates trial, one can interpret that Socrates was accused of undoubtedly failing to honor the Athenian gods and for corrupting the youth of Athens; overall, one can say that Socrates was condemned on the whole basis of his beliefs and teachings of questioning authority and life as it was back then known to be (his). In Socrates defense, he deeply expressed the spirited purpose of his integrity; nevertheless, he at the same time- without a fight, accepted his verdict and faith of his ending future (his). Although

Why did Athens wait so long to put Socrates on trial?. Socrates was teaching students for some time before he was put on trial in 399 B.C.E. I think the people of Athens waited to put Socrates on trial because they just lost a war to Sparta and were afraid their democracy was going to be taken away from them. Some of Socrates students also turned on Athens and became part of the thirty tyrants. I think the reason why Athens did not prosecute Socrates before the war was because there was no threat to Athens Democracy. Athens and Sparta had powerful armies, and they both felt that nothing could stop them. Both cities were claiming land around the world, until they both had to fight each other, to see who was the strongest.

Living in a democracy, everyone is exposed through television and other various forms of media everyday to numerous trials by jury. Usually they are rarely given a second thought, but every once in a while along comes a specific trial which captures the attention of the entire country. This goes the same for trials throughout centuries in our past. Although they did not have the same forms of media as in this, modern era, there were still specific trials in which everyone knew about. One trial that stands out is the one against the great philosopher Socrates. Accused of corrupting the youth, being an atheist, and believing in other gods, Socrates faced trial by jury. The early forms of democracy