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The Apology, often called "The Trial of Socrates," is not an apology, but his defense at his trial. The jury in Athens consisted of 501 citizens. It was the custom for each side to present its case and then, if the defendent were found guilty, each side would propose a punishment. The jury would then choose between the proposed punishments.
As the dialogue begins, Socrates notes that his accusers have cautioned the jury against Socrates's eloquence, but, according to Socrates, the difference between him and his accusers is that Socrates speaks the truth. Socrates distinguished two groups of accusers: the earlier and the later accusers. The earlier group is the hardest to defend against, since they do not appear in court. Rather, they are the legends that grew up around Socrates, many of which are older than the jurists themselves.
The old charges against Socrates are "Socrates, a wise man, who speculated about the heaven above, and searched into the earth beneath, and made the worse appear the better cause." In his comic play The Clouds, Aristophanes paints such a picture of Socrates. Socrates claims that he has had nothing to do with these studies. He is also accused of being a Sophist: that he is a teacher and takes money for his teaching. He also denies being able to teach. He tells the story of Evenus the Parian who charges 5 minae for teaching human and political virtue. He attempts to explain why he has attracted such a reputation.
Socrates calls as his first witness the god Apollo. His oracle is at Delphi, the most holy of all ancient Greek religious shrines. Socrates’s friend, Chaerephon, asked the oracle if anyone was wiser than Socrates. The answer was no, there was no man wiser. Socrates cannot believe this oracle, and he questions what it can mean, so he sets out to disprove it by finding someone who is wiser. He goes to a politician, who was thought wise by many, and who thought himself wise, but he was not really wise. As a consequence, the politician hated Socrates, as did others who witnessed the questioning. "I am better off, because while he knows nothing but thinks that he knows, I neither know nor think that I know" (Socrates). The men most in repute were all but the most foolish. He questioned politicians, poets, and artisans. The poets write not by wisdom, but by genius and inspiration. Socrates concludes that the oracle meant that God only is wise, that the wisdom of men means little.
Meletus charges Socrates with being "a doer of evil, and corruptor of the youth, and he does not believe in the gods of the State, and has other new divinities of his own." In his examination of Meletus, Socrates makes three main points: 1) Meletus has accused Socrates of being the only corrupter, while everyone else improves the youth. He then uses an analogy: a horse trainer is to horses as an improver is to the youth. The point is that there is only one improver, not many. 2) If Socrates corrupts the youth, either it is intentional or unintentional. No one would corrupt his neighbor intentionally, because he would be harmed in turn. If the corruption was unintentional, then the court is not the place to resolve the problem. The other possibility is that he does not corrupt them at all. 3) In frustration, Meletus accuses Socrates of being "a complete atheist." But in his affidavit, he claims Socrates teaches new gods. Thus Meletus contradicts himself.
Socrates compares himself with famous Greek heroes because of their courage in facing death. Socrates argues that fear of death is foolish, because it is not known if death is a good or an evil. Thus there is no object of fear at all. He does claim a kind of wisdom: "I am wise because I know that I do not know." "I shall obey God rather than you." In this, Socrates displays his own sense of superiority to his accusers and, in fact, to the jury, also.
Socrates claims that his mission is in service to God. His mission is to condemn people’s pursuit of money, honor, and reputation, while ignoring wisdom, truth, and the improvement of the soul. Socrates claims that he was given his mission by God for the good of the State. He compares himself to a gadfly. To verify his sincerity, he calls as his second witness his own poverty.
He claims that he did not become a politician because "no man who goes to war with you . . . will save his life." He was a Senator once, and opposed the many when several generals were put on trial together. He also tells the story of when The Thirty (the ruling body installed by Sparta after their defeat of Athens; these were a cruel group of people who used their power to get rich) ordered him to bring in Leon the Salaminian for execution. He refused their order. He points out that several of the so-called "corrupted youth" were present in court, as well as their elders. But none of them were accusing him; rather, they were there in his defense.
Socrates refused to ask for pity. He does not throw himself on the mercy of the court. Many would bring in their children to win pity. He does mention that he has three young children, but he refused to demean himself. He lectures the jury on their responsibility to ignore the appeals to pity and judge the truth. He affirms his belief in the gods: "I do believe that there are gods, and in a far higher sense than that in which any of my accusers believe in them."
The jury finds him guilty as charged. Meletus proposes death. Socrates proposes a pension: retirement in a home for benefactors of the state. He examines possible penalties: death, imprisonment, a fine, or exile. "The unexamined life is not worth living." He finally proposes a fine of 30 minae, guraranteed by Crito, Plato, and others.
The jury sentences him to death. He speaks first to those who condemned him. He draws a comparison between the fast runner (unrighteousness) and the slow runner (death). He says he is slow and the slow runner has caught up with him. His accusers are quick and the fast runner has caught up with them. He prophesies to those who condemned him: there will be more accusers of you than there are now. They should not be crushing others, but trying to improve themselves. He then speaks to those who acquitted him: the true judges. He remarks that his voice, which at times would warn him to refrain from certain actions, had not once interrupted his thoughts and actions in his defense. He argues that death might be a good: either it is a dreamless sleep, or he will travel to the place of the dead where he can question anyone and not be executed for it. "No evil can happen to a good man." He asks for them to punish his sons, and provide guidance. If so, then he will have received justice. "We go our ways: me to die, you to live; only God knows which is better."
Apology
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Stephen Carden stephen.carden@kctcs.net
August 30, 1999