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{{short description|399 B.C. legal proceedings by the pantheon of Athens against Socrates}}
{{for|the 2007 play|Socrates on Trial {{!}} ''Socrates on Trial''}}
{{redirect|Death of Socrates|the painting|The Death of Socrates {{!}} ''The Death of Socrates''}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox court case
| name = The Trial of Socrates
| court = 
| date decided = 399 BC
| citations = Plato; Xenophon; [[Diogenes Laertius]]
| transcripts = 
| judges = 501 +/- jury members in Athens
| number of judges = 
| prior actions = 
| subsequent actions = Socrates [[Capital punishment#Ancient Greece|sentenced to death]]
| opinions = 280 jurors found the defendant guilty while 221 found him innocent
| charge = *[[Blasphemy|Failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges]]
*[[Brainwashing|Corruption of the Youth]]
| verdict = [[Guilt (law)|Guilty]]
| keywords = 
| italic title = no
}}

The '''Trial of Socrates''' (399 BC) was held to determine the philosopher's guilt of two charges: ''[[asebeia]]'' ([[impiety]]) against the [[Pantheon (religion)|pantheon]] of [[Classical Athens|Athens]], and corruption of the youth of the city-state; the accusers cited two impious acts by [[Socrates]]: "failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges" and "introducing new deities".

The death sentence of Socrates was the legal consequence of asking politico-philosophic questions of his students, which resulted in the two accusations of moral corruption and impiety. At trial, the majority of the ''[[dikast]]s'' (male-citizen jurors chosen by lot) voted to convict him of the two charges; then, consistent with common legal practice, they voted to determine his punishment and agreed to a sentence of death to be executed by Socrates's drinking a poisonous beverage of [[Conium maculatum|hemlock]].

Of all the works written about Socrates' trial, only three survive: [[Plato]]'s ''Apology'', [[Xenophon]]'s ''Apology'', and Xenophon's ''[[Memorabilia (Xenophon)|Memorabilia]]''.<ref name="autogenerated281">Danzig, Gabriel. 2003. "Apologizing for Socrates: Plato and Xenophon on Socrates' Behavior in Court." Transactions of the American Philological Association. Vol. 133, No. 2, pp. 285.</ref> Primary-source accounts of the trial and execution of Socrates are the ''[[Apology (Plato)|Apology of Socrates]]'' by [[Plato]] and the ''[[Apology (Xenophon)|Apology of Socrates to the Jury]]''  by [[Xenophon of Athens]], both of whom had been his students; modern interpretations include ''The Trial of Socrates'' (1988) by the journalist [[I. F. Stone]], ''Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths'' (2009) by the Classics scholar [[Robin Waterfield]],<ref>Stone, I.F. (1988). The Trial of Socrates. New York: Little, Brown. Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths by Robin Waterfield, Norton, 2009</ref> and ''The Shadows of Socrates: The Heresy, War, and Treachery behind the Trial of Socrates'' (2024) by the scholar Matt Gatton.

==Background==
{{Socrates}}

Before the philosopher Socrates was tried for moral corruption and impiety, the citizens of [[Classical Athens|Athens]] knew him as an intellectual and moral gadfly of their society. In the comic play, ''[[The Clouds]]'' (423 BC), [[Aristophanes]] represents Socrates as a [[Sophism|sophistic]] philosopher who teaches the young man Pheidippides how to formulate arguments that justify striking and beating his father. Despite Socrates denying he had any relation with the Sophists, the playwright indicates that Athenians associated the philosophic teachings of Socrates with [[Sophism]]. As philosophers, the Sophists were men of ambiguous reputation, "they were a set of charlatans that appeared in Greece in the fifth century BC, and earned ample livelihood by imposing on public credulity: professing to teach virtue, they really taught the art of fallacious discourse, and meanwhile propagated immoral practical doctrines."<ref>Kerferd, G.B.''The Sophistic Movement''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.6.</ref>

Besides ''The Clouds'', the comic play ''[[The Wasps]]'' (422 BC) also depicts inter-generational conflict, between an older man and a young man. Such representations of inter-generational social conflict among the men of Athens, especially in the decade from 425 to 415 BC, can reflect contrasting positions regarding opposition to or support for the Athenian invasion of Sicily.<ref name="Waterfield">Waterfield, Robin. ''Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths''. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009.</ref> Many Athenians blamed the teachings of the Sophists and of Socrates for instilling the younger generation with a morally nihilistic, disrespectful attitude towards their society.

Socrates left no written works; however, his student and friend, [[Plato]], wrote [[Socratic dialogue]]s, featuring Socrates as the protagonist. As a teacher, competitor intellectuals resented Socrates's ''elenctic examination'' method for intellectual inquiry, because its questions threatened their credibility as men of [[wisdom]] and [[virtue]].<ref>Plato. ''Apology'', 21d–e, 23a, 23e.</ref>

It has sometimes been claimed that Socrates described himself as the "[[gadfly (philosophy and social science)|gadfly]]" of Athens which, like a sluggish horse, needed to be aroused by his "stinging".<ref>Plato. ''Apology'', 30e–31a.</ref>  In the Greek text of his defense given by Plato, Socrates never actually uses that term (viz., "gadfly" [Grk., ''[[:wiktionary:oestrus|oîstros]]''])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=oi)=stros&la=greek&can=oi)=stros0&prior=oi)/stros#lexicon|title=Greek Word Study Tool|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|access-date=2019-09-03}}</ref> to describe himself.  Rather, his reference is merely allusive, as he (literally) says only that he has attached himself to the City (''proskeimenon tē polei'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=pro/skeimai |title=Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, πρόσκειμαι |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-07-09}}</ref> in order to sting it.<ref>See the Greek text in H.N. Fowler, trans., ''Plato'', vol. 1, ''"Euthyphro," "Apology," "Crito," "Phaedo," and "Phaedrus,"'' Loeb Classical Library (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919), p. 112</ref>  Nevertheless, he does make the bold claim that he is a god's gift to the Athenians.<ref>Plato. ''Apology'', 31a-b</ref>

Socrates's [[elenctic]] method was often imitated by the young men of Athens.<ref>Plato. ''Apology'', 23c.</ref>

===Association with Alcibiades and the Thirty Tyrants===
[[Alcibiades]] was an Athenian general who had been the main proponent of the disastrous [[Sicilian Expedition]] during the [[Peloponnesian Wars]], where virtually the entire Athenian invading force of more than 50,000 soldiers and non-combatants (e.g., the rowers of the [[Trireme]]s) was killed or captured and enslaved. He was a student and close friend of Socrates, and his messmate during the siege of Potidaea (433–429 BC). Socrates remained Alcibiades's close friend, admirer, and mentor for about five or six years.<ref name="Waterfield"/> 

His complex friendship with Socrates was put on display during Alcibiades' speech at the Symposium, where he both praised Socrates and also disclosed his emotional turmoil and humiliation because of his personal desires. Alcibiades accused Socrates of arrogance during what he framed as a "trial", using the audience as a jury to judge Socrates' pride. Yet, Socrates remained silent, demonstrating the self-control that challenged Alcibiades' values. Alcibiades admitted this created an inner conflict, as Socrates' teachings inspired a shift in thinking toward focusing on one's inner character over their outward success. In this way, the "first trial" of Socrates serves as a powerful metaphor for the philosophical and personal challenges he posed to the traditional Athenian values, foreshadowing the tensions that would later lead to his formal trial.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hole |first=George T. |date=2017 |title=The First Trial of Socrates |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/663815#info_wrap |journal=Philosophy and Literature |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=1–15 |issn=1086-329X}}</ref> 

Another possible source of resentment was the political views that he and his associates were thought to have embraced. [[Critias]], who appears in two of Plato's Socratic dialogues, was a leader of the [[Thirty Tyrants]] (the ruthless [[oligarchy|oligarchic]] regime that ruled Athens, as puppets of Sparta and backed by Spartan troops, for eight months in 404–403 BC until they were overthrown). Several of the Thirty had been students of Socrates, but there is also a record of their falling out.<ref>Xenophon. ''Memorabilia'', 1.2.29–38.</ref>

As with many of the issues surrounding Socrates's conviction, the nature of his affiliation with the Thirty Tyrants is far from straightforward. During the reign of the Thirty, many prominent Athenians who were opposed to the new government left Athens. Robin Waterfield asserts that "Socrates would have been welcome in oligarchic Thebes, where he had close associates among the [[Pythagoreans]] who flourished there, and which had already taken in other exiles."<ref name=Waterfield/>{{Rp|183}} Given the availability of a hospitable host outside of Athens, Socrates, at least in a limited way, chose to remain in Athens. Thus, Waterfield suggests, Socrates's contemporaries probably thought his remaining in Athens, even without participating in the Thirty's bloodthirsty schemes, demonstrated his sympathy for the Thirty's cause, not neutrality towards it. This is proved, Waterfield argues, by the fact that after the Thirty were no longer in power, anyone who had remained in Athens during their rule was encouraged to move to [[Eleusis]], the new home of the expatriate Thirty.<ref name=Waterfield/> Socrates did oppose the will of the Thirty on one documented occasion. Plato's ''Apology'' has the character of Socrates describe that the Thirty ordered him, along with four other men, to fetch a man named [[Leon of Salamis]] so that the Thirty could execute him. While Socrates did not obey this order, he did nothing to warn Leon, who was subsequently apprehended by the other four men.<ref>Plato. ''Apology'', 32c.</ref>

=== Support of oligarchic rule and contempt for Athenian democracy ===

According to the portraits left by some of Socrates's followers, Socrates himself seems to have openly espoused certain anti-democratic views, the most prominent perhaps being the view that it is not majority opinion that yields correct policy but rather genuine knowledge and professional competence, which is [[Technocracy|possessed by only a few]].<ref>Xenophon, ''Memorabilia'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0208&layout=&loc=1.2.1 1.2.9]; Plato, ''Crito'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0170&layout=&loc=Crito+47c 47c–d], ''Laches'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0176&layout=&loc=Lach.+184e 184e].</ref>  Plato also portrays him as being severely critical of some of the most prominent and well-respected leaders of the [[Athenian democracy]];<ref>'' Gorgias'' 503c–d, 515d–517c.</ref> and even has his claim that the officials selected by the Athenian system of governance cannot credibly be regarded as benefactors since it is not any group of ''many'' that benefits, but only "someone or very few persons".<ref>'' Apology of Socrates'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0170&layout=&loc=Apol.+25a 25a-b].</ref>  Finally, Socrates was known as often praising the laws of the undemocratic regimes of [[Sparta]] and [[Crete]].<ref>Plato, ''Crito'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0170&layout=&loc=Crito+52e 52e].</ref> Plato himself reinforced anti-democratic ideas in ''[[Republic (Plato)|The Republic]]'', advocating rule by elite, enlightened "Philosopher-Kings".

The totalitarian Thirty Tyrants had anointed themselves as the elite, and in the minds of his Athenian accusers, Socrates was guilty because he was suspected of introducing oligarchic ideas to them. [[Larry Gonick]], in his "[[Cartoon History of the Universe]]"<ref>Gonick, Larry. "Cartoon History of the Universe Vol 1–7". Volume 7 – All about Athens. Doubleday Books, 1990. {{ISBN|0385-26520-4}}.</ref> wrote: 
{{blockquote|The trial of Socrates has always seemed mysterious{{nbsp}}... the charges sound vague and unreal{{nbsp}}... because behind the stated charges was Socrates's real crime: preaching a philosophy that produced Alcibiades and Critias{{nbsp}}... but of course he couldn't be prosecuted for that under the amnesty [which had been declared after the overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants]<!--Presuming this isn't part of the quote. It might be better to put it in a note if so-->{{nbsp}}... so his accusers made it "not believing the Gods of the city, introducing new gods, and corrupting the youth".}}

Apart from his views on politics, Socrates held unusual views on religion. He made several references to his spirit, or ''[[Daemon (classical mythology)|daimonion]]'', although he explicitly claimed that it never urged him on, but only warned him against various prospective actions.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/socrates| title = ''Socrates Legacy''| date = June 13, 2023}}</ref>

==Historical descriptions of the trial==
{{Sister project
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[[Wikisource]] has original texts related to this article:
<div style="margin-left: 10px;">
* ''[[Wikisource:Euthyphro|Euthyphro]]''
* [[Wikisource:Apology (Plato)|''Apology'' (Plato)]]
* ''[[Wikisource:Crito|Crito]]''
* ''[[Wikisource:Phaedo|Phaedo]]''</div>
}}
The extant, primary sources about the history of the trial and execution of Socrates are: the ''[[Apology (Xenophon)|Apology of Socrates to the Jury]]'', by [[Xenophon]], a historian and philosopher; and the [[tetralogy]] of Socratic dialogues{{snd}}''[[Euthyphro]]'', the ''[[Apology (Plato)|Socratic Apology]]'', ''[[Crito]]'', and ''[[Phaedo (Plato)|Phaedo]]'', by [[Plato]], a philosopher who had been a student of [[Socrates]].

In ''The Indictment of Socrates'' (392 BC), the [[Sophism|sophist]] rhetorician [[Polycrates (sophist)|Polycrates]] (440–370) presents the prosecution speech by [[Anytus]], which condemned Socrates for his political and religious activities in [[Classical Athens|Athens]] before the year 403 BC. In presenting such a prosecution, which addressed matters external to the specific charges of moral corruption and impiety levelled by the Athenian ''[[polis]]'' against Socrates, Anytus violated the political [[amnesty]] specified in the agreement of reconciliation (403–402 BC),<ref>Waterfield, Robin. ''Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths''. New York, 2009. p. 196.</ref> which granted pardon to a man for political and religious actions taken before or during the rule of the [[Thirty Tyrants]], "under which all further charges and official recriminations concerning the [reign of] terror were forbidden".<ref>Martin, Thomas R. ''Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times''. Yale University, 2009. p. 162.</ref>

Moreover, the legal and religious particulars against Socrates that Polycrates reported in ''The Indictment of Socrates'' are addressed in the replies by Xenophon and the sophist [[Libanius|Libanius of Antioch]] (314–390).

==Trial==
[[File: He drank the contents as though it were a draught of Wine.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Death of Socrates (399 BC): He drank the contents as though it were a draught of wine.]]

The formal accusation was the second element of the trial of Socrates, which the accuser, [[Meletus]], swore to be true, before the [[archon]] (a state officer with mostly religious duties) who considered the evidence and determined that there was an actionable case of "moral corruption of Athenian youth" and "[[impiety]]", for which the philosopher must legally answer; the archon summoned Socrates for a trial by jury.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Filonik|first=Jakub|date=2013|title=Athenian Impiety Trials: A Reappraisal|journal=Dike|volume=16 |issue=16|pages=11–96 |doi=10.13130/1128-8221/4290}}</ref>

Athenian juries were drawn by lottery, from a group of hundreds of male-citizen volunteers; such a great jury usually ensured a majority verdict in a trial. Although neither [[Plato]] nor [[Xenophon of Athens]] identifies the number of jurors, a jury of 501 men likely was the legal norm. In the  ''[[Apology (Plato)|Apology of Socrates]]'' (36a–b), about Socrates's defence at trial, Plato said that if just 30 of the votes had been otherwise, then Socrates would have been acquitted (36a), and that (perhaps) less than three-fifths of the jury voted against him (36b).<ref>The second point is tenable if Socrates's claim (36a–b) entails that Meletus, Lycon, and Anytus each was responsible for one-third of the votes against Socrates, which implies that Meletus failed to persuade less than one-fifth of the judges. The jury of 500 or 501 men, based either on [[Diogenes Laërtius]] (2.41) or on the Aristotelian ''[[Constitution of the Athenians (Aristotle)|Athenaion Politeia]]'' (68). See P. Rhodes, 1981, ''Commentary on the Aristotelian "Athenaion Politeia"'', p. 729.</ref> Assuming a jury of 501, this would imply that he was convicted by a majority of 280 against 221. The citizens were in a state of fear because of the past war and plagues they feared to anger their gods again because of Socrates, so this context can help in understanding the state of mind of some jurors when giving their verdict.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hole |first=George |date=October 2011 |title=Oedipus at the Trial of Socrates |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/phl.2011.0020. |journal=Philosophy and Literature |volume=35 |pages=360-370 |via=Project MUSE}}</ref>

Having been found guilty of corruption and impiety, Socrates and the prosecutor suggested sentences for the punishment of his crimes against the city-state of Athens. Expressing surprise at the few votes required for an acquittal, Socrates joked that he be punished with free meals at the [[Prytaneum]] (the city's sacred hearth), an honour usually held for a [[benefactor (law)|benefactor]] of Athens, and the victorious athletes of an Olympiad. After that failed suggestion, Socrates then offered to pay a fine of 100 drachmae{{snd}}one-fifth of his property{{snd}}which largesse testified to his integrity and poverty as a philosopher. Finally, a fine of 3,000 drachmae was agreed, proposed by Plato, [[Crito of Alopece|Crito]], Critobulus, and Apollodorus, who guaranteed payment{{snd}}nonetheless, the prosecutor of the trial of Socrates proposed the death penalty for the impious philosopher. (Diogenes Laërtius, 2.42). In the end, the sentence of death was passed by a greater majority of the jury than that by which he had been convicted.

In the event, friends, followers, and students encouraged Socrates to flee Athens, an action which the citizens expected; yet, on principle, Socrates refused to flout the law and escape his legal responsibility to Athens (see: ''[[Crito]]''). Therefore, faithful to his teaching of civic obedience to the law, the 70-year-old Socrates executed his death sentence and drank the hemlock, as condemned at trial. (See: ''[[Phaedo]]'')

== Death ==

<gallery mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180>
File:Drawing of the state prison.jpg|A presentation of the possible appearance of the state prison in ancient Athens.
File:Athenian State Prison.jpg|The site of the state prison in Ancient Athens.
File:Cups for hemlock poison.jpg|The small cups found in the drains of the prison, believed to be used for administering the poison for executions.
</gallery>

The death of Socrates is presented in the Platonic diaologue the [[Phaedo]], in which Socrates and his friends discuss the immortality of the soul before Socrates drinks the hemlock poison given to him for his execution.

In the ''Phaedo'' the poison given to Socrates is not identified by name, but is called {{lang|grc|τὸ φάρμακον}} (to pharmakon), "the drug". Because of this and the differences in symptoms between various species called {{lang|grc|κώνειον}} (kōneion, hemlock in Greek) or {{lang|la|cicūta}} (hemlock in Latin) the identification of [[Conium maculatum|poison hemlock]] as the plant used in the execution has been the subject of debate.<ref name="Bloch" />

In 1679 the Swiss physician [[Johann Jakob Wepfer]] published ''Cicutae aquaticae historia et noxae''. In it he describes the symptoms of eight children who had eaten the roots of [[water hemlock]]. He expressed doubts that hemlock could have been the "cold" poison used in the execution of Socrates as the symptoms were of a "hot" poison with seizures, arched backs, and foaming at the mouth. Wepfer was unaware of that the ''Cicuta'' he was studying was not the same plant used in Athenian executions.<ref name="Bloch">{{Cite book |last1=Bloch |first1=Enid |date=2002 |chapter=Hemlock Poisoning and the Death of Socrates: Did Plato Tell the Truth? |editor-last1=Brickhouse |editor-first1=Thomas C. |editor-last2=Smith |editor-first2=Nicholas D. |title=The Trial and Execution of Socrates: Sources and Controversies |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=256–259, 261–264, 272 |isbn=978-0-19-511980-0 |oclc=47677838}}</ref>

The English physician and botanist [[John Harley (physician)|John Harley]] worked with a preparation of hemlock called ''succus conii'', testing it on himself and recording the effects in his book ''The Old Vegetable Neurotics'' published in 1869. The symptoms he recorded were identical to the initial stages described in the ''Phaedo''.<ref name="Bloch" />
<blockquote> An hour and a quarter after taking the dose, I first felt decided weakness in my legs. The giddiness and diminution of motor power continued to increase for the next fifteen minutes. An hour and a half after taking the dose, these effects attained their maximum ; and at this time I was cold, pale, and tottering. ...  The mind remained perfectly clear and calm, and the brain active throughout; but the body seemed heavy, and well-nigh asleep.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Harley |first1=John |author-link1=John Harley (physician) |date=1869 |title=The Old vegetable Neurotics: Hemlock, Opium, Belladonna and Henbane; Their Physiological Action and Therapeutical Use, Alone and in Combination; Being the Gulstonian Lectures of 1868, Extended and Including a Complete Examination of the Active Constituents of Opium |url=https://archive.org/details/oldvegetableneur00harl |location=London |publisher=Macmillan and Co. |pages=4–5 |oclc=963795665 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref></blockquote>

In the ''Phado'':
<blockquote> ...and he walked about until, as he said, his legs began to fail, and then he lay on his back, according to the directions, and the man who gave him the poison now and then looked at his feet and legs; and after a while he pressed his foot hard and asked him if he could feel; and he said, no; and then his leg, and so upwards and upwards, and showed us that he was cold and stiff. And he felt them himself, and said: When the poison reaches the heart, that will be the end. He was beginning to grow cold about the groin, when he uncovered his face, for he had covered himself up, and said (they were his last words)—he said: Crito, I owe a cock to [[Asclepius]]; will you remember to pay the debt? The debt shall be paid, said Crito; is there anything else? There was no answer to this question ; but in a minute or two a movement was heard, and the attendants uncovered him; his eyes were set, and Crito closed his eyes and mouth.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Plato |author-link1=Plato |date=1899 |title=Dialogues of Plato, containing The apology of Socrates, Crito, Phaedo, and Protagoras |url=https://archive.org/details/dialoguesofplato00plat_2 |translator-last1=Jowett |translator-first1=Benjamin |translator-link1=Benjamin Jowett |edition=Revised |location=New York |publisher=The Colonial Press |page=142 |oclc=3221341 |access-date=6 September 2025}}</ref></blockquote>

In the 1970s the accuracy of the description was questioned by the classicist Christopher Gill and the pathologist William Ober. Gill argued that the scene was adjusted by Plato to present, either for dramatic or philosophic purposes, a quiet and dignified end.<ref name="Bloch" /> He wrote, "The quietness, the calmness, the regularity of the effects of the penetration of the poison into Socrates' body (so different from the chaos, squalor, and collapse described by [[Nicander]] and modern toxicologies) is the quietness of a ritual, the ''katharmos'' or purification of the soul from the prison of the body."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gill |first1=Christopher |date=May 1973 |title=The Death of Socrates |journal=The Classical Quarterly |volume=23 |issue=1 |page=28 |doi=10.1017/S0009838800036454 |issn=0009-8388 |jstor=638122}}</ref> In the early 2000s Enid Bloch's paper reviewing the available evidence and concluded that these arguments resulted from confusion between different species commonly called hemlock.<ref name="Bloch" />

==Interpretations of the trial of Socrates==
===Ancient===
In the time of the trial of Socrates, the year 399 BC,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Background Of The Trial|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Socrates/Background-of-the-trial |website=[[Britannica]]}}</ref> the city-state of [[Classical Athens|Athens]] recently had endured the trials and tribulations of Spartan [[hegemony]] and the 13-month régime of the [[Thirty Tyrants]], which had been imposed consequently to the Athenian defeat in the [[Peloponnesian War]] (431–404 BC). At the request of [[Lysander]], a Spartan admiral, the Thirty men, led by [[Critias]] and [[Theramenes]], were to administer Athens and revise the city's democratic laws, which were inscribed on a wall of the [[Stoa Basileios]]. Their actions were to facilitate the transition of the Athenian government from a [[democracy]] to an [[oligarchy]] in service to [[Sparta]].<ref name="2.3.15–16">Xenophon, [[Hellenica (Xenophon)|''Hellenica'']], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Xen.+Hell.+2.3.15&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0206 2.3.15–16]</ref>

Moreover, the Thirty Tyrants also appointed a council of 500 men to perform the judicial functions that once had belonged to every Athenian citizen.<ref name=AC35.1>{{cite web| url = http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/athenian_const.html| title = Aristotle, ''Athenian Constitution'', 35.1 (350 BC).}}</ref><ref>Krentz, Peter. ''The Thirty at Athens'' p. 50. ({{ISBN|0801414504}})</ref> In their brief régime, the pro-Spartan oligarchs killed about five percent of the Athenian population, confiscated much property, and exiled [[Athenian democracy|democrats]] from the city proper. The fact that Critias, leader of the Thirty Tyrants, had been a pupil of Socrates was held against him.<ref>Wolpert, Andrew. ''Remembering Defeat: Civil War and Civic Memory in Ancient Athens''. ({{ISBN|0-8018-6790-8}}).</ref><ref name="2.3.15–16"/>

[[File:David - The Death of Socrates.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The Death of Socrates]]'' (1787), by [[Jacques-Louis David]] ]]

Plato's presentation of the trial and death of Socrates inspired writers, artists, and philosophers to revisit the matter. For some, the execution of the man whom Plato called "the wisest and most just of all men" demonstrated the defects of [[democracy]] and of popular rule; for others, the Athenian actions were a justifiable defence of the recently re-established democracy.<ref>I.F. Stone. ''The Trial of Socrates'', 1988.</ref>

In 73 AD, Syrian Stoic philosopher [[Mara bar Serapion]] wrote of the death of the "three wise men": which included [[Pythagoras]], "the wise king" of the Jews, and Socrates. Serapion criticized the treatment of each of them as unjust and oppressive.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-28 |title=The Case For The Historic Jesus |url=https://hillcities.org/the-case-for-the-historic-jesus/ |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=Hill Cities}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=WYM |date=2017-06-22 |title=5 Secular, non-biblical authors who verify Jesus’ life and ministry |url=https://youth.rcdow.org.uk/voices/5-secular-non-biblical-authors-who-verify-jesus-life-and-ministry/ |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=Diocese of Westminster Youth Ministry |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite conference |last=Merz |first=Annette |date=2022-05-23 |title=The Letter of Mara bar Sarapion in Context |conference=Proceedings of the Symposium Held at Utrecht University, 10-12 December 2009 |url=https://www.academia.edu/79763337/The_Letter_of_Mara_bar_Sarapion_in_Context |doi=10.1163/9789004233010}}</ref>

===Modern===
In ''The Trial of Socrates'' (1988), [[I. F. Stone]] argued that Socrates wanted to be sentenced to death, to justify his philosophic opposition to the Athenian democracy of that time, and because, as a man, he saw that old age would be an unpleasant time for him.

In the introduction to his play ''[[Socrates on Trial (play)|Socrates on Trial]]'' (2007), Andrew Irvine claimed that because of his loyalty to Athenian democracy, Socrates willingly accepted the guilty verdict voted by the jurors at his trial: 
{{blockquote|During a time of war, and great social and intellectual upheaval, Socrates felt compelled to express his views, openly, regardless of the consequences. As a result, he is remembered today, not only for his sharp wit and high ethical standards, but also for his loyalty to the view that, in a democracy, the best way for a man to serve himself, his friends, and his city{{snd}}even during times of war{{snd}}is by being loyal to, and by speaking publicly about the truth.<ref>{{cite book |last=Irvine |first=Andrew D.  |chapter=Introduction |title=Socrates on Trial |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2008 |page=19}}</ref>}}

In ''Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths'' (2009), [[Robin Waterfield]] wrote that the death of Socrates was an act of volition motivated by a greater purpose; Socrates "saw himself as healing the City's ills by his voluntary death".<ref name=Waterfield/>{{Rp|204}} Waterfield wrote that Socrates, with his unconventional methods of [[Intellectualism|intellectual]] enquiry, attempted to resolve the political confusion then occurring in the city-state of Athens, by willingly being the scapegoat, whose death would quiet old disputes, which then would allow the Athenian polis to progress towards political harmony and social peace.<ref name=Waterfield/>

In ''The New Trial of Socrates'' (2012), an international panel of ten judges held a [[Mock trial|mock re-trial]] of Socrates to resolve the matter of the charges levelled against him by [[Meletus]], [[Anytus]], and [[Apology (Plato)|Lycon]], that: "Socrates is a doer of evil and corrupter of the youth, and he does not believe in the gods of the state, and he believes in other new divinities of his own". Five judges voted guilty and five judges voted not guilty. Limiting themselves to the facts of the case against Socrates, the judges did not consider any sentence, but the judges who voted the philosopher guilty said that they would not have considered the death penalty for him.<ref>{{cite news|title=Socrates acquitted in ancient trial re-run |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gZNTTgYc0VcusOWcootqMJvuhAqw |agency=AFP |date=25 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130161519/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gZNTTgYc0VcusOWcootqMJvuhAqw |archive-date=January 30, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614034706/http://www.sgt.gr/en/programme/event/688 |url=http://www.sgt.gr/en/programme/event/688 |archive-date=2012-06-14 |title=The New Trial of Socrates |website=Onassis Cultural Centre}}</ref>

In ''The Shadows of Socrates: The Heresy, War, and Treachery behind the Trial of Socrates'' (2024), Matt Gatton offered a new perspective on the trial, based on his reconstruction archeological work that was published in the ''Oxford Handbook of Light in Archeology'' (2022).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gatton |first1=Matt |chapter=The Eleusinian Projector: The Hierophant's Optical Method of Conjuring the Goddess |title=Oxford Handbook of Light in Archeology |editor-first1=Costas |editor-last1=Papadopoulos |editor-first2=Holley |editor-last2=Moyes|date=9 March 2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198788218 |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-light-in-archaeology-9780198788218?cc=us&lang=en&# |access-date=April 27, 2024}}</ref> Gatton asserts that the impiety charge against Socrates stemmed from his searing critique of Athens’ most hallowed religious ritual—the [[Eleusinian Mysteries|Mysteries of Eleusis]]. He writes: "Trying to explain what happened to Socrates without talking about the Mysteries of Eleusis is like trying to explain what happened to Galileo without mentioning the Catholic Church."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gatton |first1=Matt |title=The Shadows of Socrates: The Heresy, War, and Treachery behind the Trial of Socrates |date=February 6, 2024 |location=New York |publisher=Pegasus |isbn=978-1639365821 |pages=xv |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Shadows-of-Socrates/Matt-Gatton/9781639365821 |access-date=April 27, 2024}}</ref> Gatton agrees with prior authors that the corrupting the youth charge was the result of the ruinous actions of several of Socrates’ former students, most pointedly Alcibiades and Critias, but Gatton sees Alcibiades’ alleged profanation of the Mysteries of Eleusis as a significant factor. In this respect, both of the charges against Socrates are tied back to the same source.

==See also==
* ''[[Meno]]'' & ''[[Phaedo]]''
* "[[The unexamined life is not worth living]]"
* [[Areopagus]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==

* {{cite book |title=Socrates and Legal Obligation |last=Allen |first=Reginald E. |year=1980 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Socrates on Trial |last=Brickhouse |first=Thomas C. |year=1989 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=The Trial and Execution of Socrates: Sources and Controversies |last1=Brickhouse |first1=Thomas C. |last2=Smith |first2=Nicholas D. |year=2002 |publisher=Oxford University |location=New York  |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Plato and the Trial of Socrates |last1=Brickhouse |first1=Thomas C. |last2=Smith |first2=Nicholas D. |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Plato's Affair with Tragedy |last=Cameron |first=Alister |year=1978 |publisher=University of Cincinnati |location=Cincinnati |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Socrates Against Athens |last=Colaiaco |first=James A. |year=2001 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Reexamining Socrates in the Apology |last1=Fagan |first1=Patricia |last2=Russon |first2=John |year=2009 |publisher=Northwestern University Press |location=Evanston |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last=Filonik |first=Jakub |year=2013 |doi=10.13130/1128-8221/4290 |title=Athenian impiety trials: a reappraisal |journal=Dike: Rivista di storia del diritto greco ed ellenistico |volume=16 |pages=11–96 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=The Composition of Plato's Apology |last=Hackforth |first=Reginald |year=1933 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Socrates on Trial: A play based on Aristophanes' Clouds and Plato's Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, adapted for modern performance |last=Irvine |first=Andrew David |year=2008 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |title-link=Socrates on Trial (play) |isbn=978-0-8020-9783-5 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Plato's ''Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito'' |editor-last=Kamtekar |editor-first=Rachana |year=2005 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=New York |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Socrates and the State |last=Kraut |first=Richard |year=1984 |publisher=Princeton University |location=Princeton, New Jersey |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Law and Rhetoric in the ''Crito'' |last=McNeal |first=Richard A. |year=1992 |publisher=Peter Lang |location=New York |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Nails |first=Debra |author-link=Debra Nails |chapter=The Trial and Death of Socrates |editor-last1=Ahbel-Rappe |editor-first1=Sara |editor-last2=Kamtekar |editor-first2=Rachana |title=A Companion to Socrates |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Companion_to_Socrates/WwpZVuylPgYC?hl=en&gbpv=1 |year=2009 |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher) |Wiley]] |isbn=978-1-4051-5458-1 |pp=5–20 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Socrates in the Apology |url=https://archive.org/details/socratesinapolog00cdcr |url-access=registration |last=Reeve |first=C.D.C. |year=1989 |publisher=Hackett |location=Indianapolis |isbn=9780872200890  |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Dialectic in Action: An Examination of Plato's ''Crito'' |last=Stokes |first=Michael C. |year=2005 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |location=Swansea |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=The Trial of Socrates |last=Stone |first=I.F. |author-link=I. F. Stone |year=1988 |publisher=Little, Brown |location=New York |isbn=978-0-316-81758-5 |oclc=16579619 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/trialofsocrates00ston  |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths |last=Waterfield |first=Robin |year=2009 |publisher=Norton |location=New York |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Socrates Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato's ''Crito'' |last=Weiss |first=Roslyn |year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University |location=New York |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Plato's Apology of Socrates |url=https://archive.org/details/platosapologyofs00west |url-access=registration |last=West |first=Thomas G. |year=1979 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca |isbn=978-0801411274  |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Law and Obedience: The Arguments of Plato's ''Crito'' |last=Woozley |first=A.D. |year=1979 |publisher=Duckworth |location=London |ref=none}}

==External links==
* The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) School of Law, [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/socrates/socrates.HTM The Trial of Socrates] ([http://famous-trials.com/socrates/833-home alternate link])
* [http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/sokrates.html Socrates] – features photographs of the philosopher's haunts
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0170%3Atext%3DApol. Apology of Socrates - Read Online at Tufts.edu]
* [https://socratesontrial.org/ Welcome to Socrates On Trial · What if Socrates Returned?]

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