Monty Python

Was Socrates Guilty or Not?

" Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of-for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear". These are the words of a famous philosopher named Socrates. Socrates was the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor. Sophroniscus' son was a short man with an ugly face. His most noticeable facial feature was a broad nose above a bushy handlebar mustache and a beard. He walked barefoot, always directly connected to the humility of dirt and dust. He wore a simple robe-like garment wrapped about the body. This man Socrates was born in 469 B.C. and lived in Athens all his life. Socrates was known in Athens as a teacher and a thinker. There was a time in his life where he had many friends and was a sophisticated Athenian.

As we learned in Plato's Apology, Socrates had to go through a trial to defend himself against an accusation made by Meletus, a man who had a lot of power in Athens. Meletus accused Socrates of corrupting the youth of Athens by not believing in the Gods of the city. Throughout the trial, Socrates defended himself by addressing the true reasons for his bad reputation. As a good thinker he had the skills of interrogating and winning arguments and he certainly used them in his trial by challenging the allegations made against him. He declared that his accusers had not given enough thought to their claims and also gave them an overview on the life he had chosen to live explaining why he was an atheist. When he was a young boy his friend Chairephon went to an oracle and the oracle told him that no one is wiser than Socrates. When Socrates heard this he dedicated his life to question men with good reputations, which were believed to be the wisest in Athens like politicians and poets his goal was to find a man who was wiser than him after a few years of his investigation he quoted "In my investigation in the service of the god I found that those who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, while those who were thought to be inferior were more knowledgeable" so Socrates earned a bad reputation for bringing out the ignorance of some of the Athenians men. After sharing his opinions with the court, the jury asked him what he believes his punishment should be; he said that it should be free meals at the Pyrataneum. The Pyrataneum is a celebration hall for Olympian athletes this points out that he did no considered that he was guilty. For personal and political reasons that went beyond logic and also justice the jury found Socrates guilty and sentenced him to death. Socrates was okay with the punishment that the jury have given him because he had a number of chances to escape but he refused because he believe that such actions would contradict his principals.

I believe that Socrates was guilty for some of his charges. Because corrupting young people is crime in my opinion because when a