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Constantly, Socrates insisted on his own ignorance. By doing this, he hoped other men would become conscious of their own ignorance and strive for truth and knowledge. He claimed that he was unlike other men because he acknowledged and accepted his ignorance; other men did not confess their ignorance so openly.

Around the year 399 B.C.E., Socrates was brought to trial. There are several explanations why Socrates was really brought to trial. Some hold that because Socrates did not participant in illegal, ill moral acts of the Thirty Tyrants he quickly made enemies who sought his demise. Other sources held that Socrates was alleged to have educated two men who later rebelled against the Athenian democracy. Since there were no transcripts or court records left, the accounts from onlookers are used to piece together the proceedings of the trial. The indicted was recorded as follows :

?Meletus, son of Miletus, of the deme of Pitthus, indicts Socrates, son of Sophroniscus, of the deme of Alopecae, on his oath, to the following effect. Socrates is guilty (i) of not worshipping the gods whom the State worships, but introducing new and unfamiliar religious practices; (ii) and, further, of corrupting the young. The prosecutor demands the death penalty.?

The first charge was never explained. Huffman believes that there is validity to the first charge. Because Socrates would not accept stories of the gods acting wickedly, the first charge could be legal. The second charge was based on the assumption that Socrates had instilled contempt into the young of Athenian democracy. Most thought that Socrates would go into voluntary exile, but he decided to say and defend himself.

On the first vote, Socrates? jury of 500 men voted 280 for conviction and 220 for acquittal.i Socrates wasn?t shocked by the guilty conviction. He expected and even wanted conviction. He was, though, astounded at the number who voted for acquittal. The jury could exercise several penalties for their second vote (e.g., imprisonment, fines, commit to silence, and/or banishment). Socrates knew this. In Xenophon?s account of the trial, Socrates appears calm and prepared for death. Socrates says, ?If I perceive my own decay and take to complaining, how could I any longer take pleaser in life?? In effect, Socrates is saying if he did not complain about living, why should he complain about death. When asked to consider not to studying philosophy, Socrates remarks, ?The unexamined life is not worth living.?

The jury voted, 360 to 140, for the death penalty. Notice that there were more for the death penalty than there who voted for conviction. Why was this so? Because of Socrates? fearless bearing during the trial, the sympathy of the jury was lost. The courts of Socrates? time were use to hearing long oratorical speeches. Socrates tried twice to write a speech but failed. In some instances, these speeches freed the guilty and in others condemned the truly innocent. Finally, Socrates did not want to win over the jury; his tone was offensively arrogant throughout the entire trial.

After the verdict was announced (Socrates was sentenced to drank poison hemlock), Socrates remarked that his actions did not merit the extreme penalty of death. He goes on to list the crimes that, according to Athenian law, merited death. Unfortunately, Socrates? deduction was too late. If he had stressed this observation before the penalty phase begun, he probably would have received a milder sentence.

While awaiting execution, his followers offered him the opportunity to escape; he did not take the offer. He knew that if he escaped he would be going against all he had taught and believed and ??he felt morally obligated to follow the court?s decision, even if it was unjust.? Ultimately, Socrates chose to uphold his obligations even though the trade-off would be death.

His final day is narrated by Plato in the Phaedo. In this account, Socrates used his final hours to converse with his friends, Cebes and Simmias, about the immortality of the soul. In his dying remarks, he asks of Crito (one of Socrates pupils) that a debt be paid, ?Crito, we own a cock to Aesculapius; pay it, therefore, and do not neglect it.? After the poison reached his heart, he convulsed and Crito closed his mouth and eyes. Plato concludes, saying, ?this?was the end of our friend, a man we should say, who was the best of all his time we have known, and moreover, the most wise and just.? Socrates was 70.

Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy: Greece and Rome, Vol. 1 Westminster:

Newman Press, 1946.

Huffman, Carl A. ?Socrates,? in The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia Chicago:

World Book, Inc., 1998. 1-2.

Kemerling, Garth. ?Socrates: Philosophical Life,?

[http//people.Delphi.com/gkemerling/hy/2d.html], 1-14.

Marvin, Chris. ?Philosophers: Socrates,?

[http://www.trincoll.edu/~phil/philo/phils/Socrates.html] 1-2.

Saunders, J. L. ?Socrates,? in The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: Field

Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1975.

Stone, I. F. The Trial of Socrates. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1988.

Notes

i.The Athenian jury votes twice in a criminal trial. The first vote is for conviction or acquittal. If found guilty the second vote is for the penalty.

ii. Due to varying interpretations of ancient texts, the final votes are not really

known. These are the commonly accepted figures.

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