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Plato’s Apology – The Trial and Death of Socrates | Bucket List Book Adventure Book#20
Book 20 of the Bucket List Book Adventure: Apology by Plato
Book 20 of the Bucket List Book Adventure is complete. Let me tell you all about Apology, by Plato.
Firstly, apology, in this sense, is not an expression of remorse, as in the modern definition. Its definition here comes from the Greek apologia, and means the formal defense of one's actions. This is Socrates' defense, as recounted by Plato, during that final, fateful trial that condemned the philosopher to death.
In 399 BC, Socrates was charged with three crimes: impiety (or disbelief in the Athenian gods), introducing new gods through his inner daimonion, and corrupting the youth of Athens. The charges were brought by three men, Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon. It was a surprisingly serious thing and a little out of proportion.
This trial occurred around five years after the end of the Peloponnesian War. If you recall my post on Thucydides' "The History of the Peloponnesian War," Athens lost largely because of its indulgences and, ahem, a lack of "virtue" compared to the Spartans. The Athenian public was very angry at the loss and was looking for someone to blame.
Fast forward to Socrates, a veteran of the Peloponnesian War, who spoke rather frankly about virtue and the problems caused by its lack. He spoke at length about government, and he did not favor the democracy of Athens (see my post on "The Republic" for more information). Plus, Socrates believed in an inner guide, which essentially created a new kind of god, and that was just blasphemous. Also, and this really didn't help, two of his students behaved quite badly. Alcibiades was the general who engineered the Sicilian Campaign and then defected to Sparta, and Critias became one of the Thirty Tyrants.
Plays also shaped public opinion. Aristophanes’ Clouds is the best remembered, but he wasn’t the only one. Comedies by Eupolis (Kolakes, Marikas) and Cratinus (Panoptai), along with several now-lost works, all poked fun at philosophers and “deep thinkers.” By the time of the trial, mocking intellectuals had become almost fashionable in Athens. Thinking too deeply, on the other hand, was not fashionable at all; one of Socrates’ old hoplite buddies even scolded him for it. Public opinion had turned against him long before the trial began, and much of his defense focused on dismantling the parody those writers had created.
During the trial, Socrates did not do himself any favors, did not "apologize" in the modern sense of the word, and turned the courtroom into a final lecture. I'm also not sure he took it seriously. When Socrates was asked what he thought a fitting punishment was, he asked for free meals for life at the Prytaneum (the banquet hall for State heroes). I will admit, it is difficult, from this armchair, 2,500ish years later, and from a free speaking / free religious society, to understand how anyone could have thought this a serious enough matter for a state trial, much less the death penalty, even if he did come across as an arrogant boobyhead.
The City of Athens, however, took all of these matters quite seriously, and he was sentenced to death by drinking hemlock. Socrates refused to escape, even though he could have done so, claiming that he had always lived by the laws of Athens.
While it may seem extreme, the life and death of Socrates is a powerful lesson on the repercussions of challenging the status quo. Even though we might admire virtue, as defined by Socrates, today, it was a rather novel concept in his day and age. Challenging your immediate culture has consequences. I found it notable that there was very little documented regret from those who voted for Socrates' death. Nor is there any record that Aristophanes was overly fussed.
How does one successfully challenge public opinion and culture without death? I don't know. So far, no one in human history has done it yet.
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