Socrates

//Socrates// //By Alexandra DeSarno, Gabrielle Michel, and Katie Molloy// Socrates had a huge impact on later Western literature, intellectual endeavors, and philosophy, and was the central figure in one of the most famous court trials in history. A play called __Clouds__ made fun of Socrates by portraying him as the manager of an Athenian “think factory,” an oddball and snooty school attended by “airhead” students. (Starr, 146) However, this was truly a poor display of the wise philosopher. Socrates was very well known and his ideas were widespread and influential. His pupils were Xenophon and Plato. They told a lot of information about Socrates in their stories. (Nardo, 12-17)

//Socrates' Life: // **//Socrates was born in 470 BC and died in 399 BC when he was about 70 years old. When he was born, Athens was the most important city-state in the Mediterranean world.//** **//He was born less than a decade after the Athenians defeated the Persains. Therefore, he was alive when the Delian League and democracy were formed. //****//His father's name was Sophroniscus and his mother's name was Phaenarete. (Nardo,13) He was one of the greatest Greek philosophers of all time. Before him, philosophy was focused on nature and origin. He changed it towards the consideration of moral problems and how people should best live their lives. ("Socrates", 567) //**

**//Since Socrates wrote nothing down, people's only knowledge is what others, such as Plato and Aristophanes, wrote about him. Plato was a student of Socrates and wrote great information, while Aristophanes wrote the comedy __Clouds__ to mock him. (“The Socratic Problem”, 569) He explored philosophy by discussing it intelligently, often pretending to not know about the subject in order to allow his opponents to destroy their own argument by mistake.When his students asked him questions, he would too ask them questions in return and eventually, his students were able to answer their own questions. Cobblers named Simon and Pelikles recorded their conversations with him.(O'Connel, 47) //****//He served in the Athenian army starting in 441 BC.(Nardo, 43) //**

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//The Trial of Socrates: //  (Picture:The Trial of Socrates) **//Socrates was on trial for encouraging young men to revolt against the state and the ancient Olympian Gods. The accusations ended up being false. He was sentenced to death and had to drink a poison hemlock.(Robinson, 45) Plato's "Apology of Socrates" is thought to be a trusted representation of Socrates' defense of his life at his trial. ("The Socratic Problem", 567) //**

__ **//Trial: //** __


 * //<span style="background-color: #f7cae8; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;"> __First Charge:__ “Not worshiping the same gods worshiped by the state.” In __Clouds__, he said that Zeus and the other traditional gods did not exist. (Robinson, 45) //**

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 * //<span style="background-color: #f7cae8; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;"> __Second Charge:__ He "corrupted the city’s youth.” They said that Socrates “taught the young to disrespect their parents and the government.” (Nardo, 45) //**
 * //<span style="background-color: #f7cae8; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">Socrates could have left the city. However, he stayed in Athens to face the trial and that decision sealed his fate and brought Socrates eternal fame. (O'Connel, 47) //****//<span style="background-color: #f7cae8; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">He happily and readily drank the poison hemlock. Socrates walked around his cell and then laid down. He went numb from the bottom up and when the poison reached his heart, he died. (Nardo, 42-81) //**

<span style="background-color: #ff0000; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 180%; text-align: center;"> (Picture: Socrates in his young age, many years before the trial.)  __**//The Hour of Departure Speech//**__

<span style="background-color: #ff0000; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 180%;">__**//“Let us reflect…and we shall see that there is great reason that death is a good thing: for one of two reasons-either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now, if you suppose that there is no consciousness, but a sleep like the sleep of him who is undisturbed even by dreams [and therefore enjoys totally restful slumber], death will be an unspeakable gain... for eternity is then only a single night. But if death is the journey to another place, and there, as men say, all the dead abide, what good... can be greater than that?... I shall then be able to continue my search into true and false knowledge; as in this world, so also in the next; and I shall find out who is wise, and who pretends to be wise, and is not... In another world they do not put a man to death for asking questions: assuredly not. For besides being happier than we are, they will be immortal... Be of good cheer about death, and know of a certainty that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death." (Nardo, 67)//**__

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #c0c0c0; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">After the Death of the Wise Philosopher: <span style="background-color: #c0c0c0; color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">Socrates' method of philosophy consisted of finding out a man's beliefs and showing their inconsistency. Unlike most Sophists, he was concerned primarily with ethical questions rather than teaching practical skills. He learned from artisans and medicine and knew the exact knowledge of man. (Starr,147)

<span style="background-color: #c0c0c0; color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">His attackers hoped he would admit that the state had the right to dictate the opinions of a person. Socrates died a martyr to freedom and individual reason. If Socrates had not died for his beliefs, he might not have been known as well as he is today. He could have been just a footnote in later philosophy books.(Nardo, 87)

<span style="background-color: #c0c0c0; color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;"> <span style="background-color: #00ffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">(Picture: Statue of Socrates)

<span style="background-color: #00ffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">The Greeks carved many statues of their great philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists. They show us how important they felt these people were in ancient Greece. The Statue of Socrates created between 1859 and 1885 AD is outside the Hellenic Academy in Athens. (Hynson, 43)

<span style="background-color: #0071ff; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 17pt;">In conclusion, Socrates was a wise and great philosopher who died for his beliefs. However, he never truly left the world since his works and achievements will forever be honored and remembered. Socrates was a man of great intelligence. Although he died unfairly, Socrates will always be considered an amazing and intelligent man of great beliefs.

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Citations

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Books:

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Hynson, Colin. //Ancient Greece//. World Almanac Library. 2006. p. 43.

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Nardo, Don. //The Trial of Socrates//. Lucent Books Inc. 1997. p. 12-17 and p. 42-81

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 25px;">O’Connell, Kim A. //Ancient Greece//. New Jersey: Enslow Publishers Inc., 2004. p. 47

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Pearson, Anne. //Ancient Greece//. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1992. p. 36-38

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Robinson, Charles Alexander Jr. //The First Book of Ancient Greece//. New York: Franklin Watts Inc. 1960. p. 45-48

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Starr, Chester G. //The Ancient Greeks//. The New York Oxford Press, 1971. p. 147

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Webster, TBL. //Everyday Life in Classical Athens//. New York: GP Putnam’s Sons. 1969. p. 253

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Encyclopedias:

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">"Socrates." 2008. Worldbook, Print. p. 567

<span style="background-color: #800080; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">"The Socratic Problem." 2008. Worldbook, Print. p. 567