Download Defence of Socrates - Not Entirely Stable

Chris Zimmerman
HIST 304
Prof. Waters
Defence of Socrates paper
5/1/09
Socrates was put on trial for a variety of reasons. The main ones put forth (legally
and publicly at the court) were that Socrates did not believe in the “official” gods of
Greece (Athens in particular, of course), that he was a sophist, and that he was
influencing and corrupting Athens’ youth. But beyond the official charges against him,
there were plenty of other things that people held Socrates responsible for, even if it was
not explicitly said in his indictment or at the trial.
One such argument that did make it to the trial against Socrates was that he was a
sophist and that he was teaching Athens’ youth the sophist methods. The sophists were
an unpopular group of rhetoricians that were renowned for “turning the weaker argument
into the stronger” and being the equivalent of con artists and tricksters. Aristophanes’
play, The Clouds, cast Socrates as a main character and one of the main players of the
sophist movement. In other words, the reason for the sophists was placed squarely on
Socrates in the public eye.
Socrates was accused of questioning everything, especially the gods. He denied
this was true, but nevertheless was seen as a humanist and disrespecting the gods, as well
as establishing new gods (the “spirit” that he refers to frequently in his defense). He was
also accused of being a troublemaker and “being a busy body” as Meletus puts it. If you
read between the lines, this means that Socrates made a lot of powerful enemies by
asking them difficult questions (or discussing these influential people with others in a less
than flattering light). His main three opponents at the time of the trial were Meletus (a
politician), Anytus (a poet), and Lycon (an orator). Socrates stated he had no intention of
being involved in politics, but nevertheless, his philosophical questions and teachings
delved into the realm of politics. Meletus, his main opponent, obviously felt threatened
by Socrates’ teachings (though Socrates said he was not a teacher and did not get paid for
it; he simply allowed people to watch him, which they were free to do).
The political reasons for Socrates’ trial went beyond the realm of Meletus. Two
of Socrates’ pupils were key figures in Athens’ political history, both of which were seen
as grievously harmful to Athens. One of these students was Alcibiades, who was a
strategos during the Peloponnesian War. Not only had Athens lost that war, but civil
strife became rampant during that time, much of which Alcibiades was responsible for.
Alcibiades was a rash leader who made bad decisions and eventually defected to Sparta.
After his exile, he was responsible for telling Athens that he could bring Persia in on its
side, but they would have to convert to an oligarchy. So, the Assembly voted itself out of
existence and the anti-democratic council known as the Four Hundred took power.
Another one of Socrates’ students was Critias, who was a member of the Four
Hundred. Following the Four Hundred, Athens’ government (influenced by their Spartan
victors) was ruled by boards of Spartan officials. Athens’ itself had a board of thirty men
that ruled as an oligarchy with Spartan interests in mind. Critias was a member of this
group, known as the Thirty Tyrants. He was an anti-democrat and a brutal leader who
“would order murders by the hundreds without a qualm.” (Pomeroy 350).
Socrates, who was seen as anti-democratic, was held partially responsible for
these two men, as he was their teacher. Even though he was not officially charged with
being responsible for these two men explicitly (other than corrupting the youth, implying
that his teachings made these men), he was still faced with this, as it was no doubt in the
Athenians’ minds.
There is something to be said about public outcry calling for the public trial and
execution of a whipping boy. People needed a scapegoat for the “plague” of the sophists
in society, the Athenian loss in the Peloponnesian War (and all the civil strife that came
with it), and the anti-democratic reign of the Four Hundred and the Thirty Tyrants. They
found that scapegoat in Socrates, no matter how small of a role he may have played. It
was irrelevant; people wanted to lay the guilt for their troubles on some one physical
person. I believe he faced the death sentence particularly for that reason (and at the
urging of Meletus). Killing him would be like putting the troubles in the past, as a way of
exorcising Athens’ demons.
Works Cited
Plato. Defence of Socrates, Euthyphro, Crito. Trans. by David Gallop. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1997.
Pomeroy, Sarah, et al. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History, 2nd
Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.