Rating: 4/5
Socrates’
Apology, or his
Defence, is the (far from apologetic) speech by that notorious philosopher given at the day of his trial. He has been summoned to court by Meletus, on charge of ‘corrupting’ the youth of Athens with his metaphysical reasoning, not believing in the Greek pantheon, and teaching the Athenian youngsters these beliefs. Socrates defends himself against these unjust prosecutions by not only proving himself to be innocent, but by seemingly reversing roles and making Meletus the wrongdoer.
It feels incredibly strange to be reading the words supposedly spoken by one of the most famous men of ancient history; a man who was summoned to court, made an excellently composed speech, and was sentenced to death. After this verdict is given, Socrates is asked what punishment he sees fit for himself; he replies that he should be given free meals for life. It is, frankly, quite inspiring that a man about to die is so carefree about what the jury’s sentence will entail. He claims repeatedly throughout his defence that it is nothing to him whether he lives or dies, essentially proposing that he has said his piece and cares not what the results may be.