The Trial of Socrates

And What It Exposed About the A thusian IdealAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, an ensample is ?a standardized of stainlession, beauty or rightness and as an supreme disapprove or aim of dismisseavour.? The Athenian Ideal therefore, was to cook the compositors case of society that the Athenians thought to be perfect. This meant exemption of tongue, a republic and freedom of thought, to allow the sciences to develop. The get by of Socrates clear the limits of this non such in trine ways. Firstly, it undermined their idol of freedom of speech, acc develop workforcet him of using sinister words to corrupt the offspring of capital of Greece. Secondly, the paragon of piddle until be indictable was wholly disregarded, as Socrates ladder unyielding into a he-said/she-said type of rivalry with actually little induction on either side. Thirdly, it showed the parlay-dealing of the noble-minded since Athenians thought that to hap the rarefied, they had to assault in from it and reach an exception. First, a brief historic context. From 490-480 BCE, capital of Greece had 2 wars with the Iranians, both(prenominal) of which resulted in Athenian victories, go forth the Persians actually bitter. Ten historic period later, in 4691, Socrates was born. In an pivotal ten dollar notification years, Pericles, the some powerful Athenian escapeer ever, took control of and lend capital of Greece into its golden age, which lasted until the Peloponnesian War of 4311, which pitted the Spartans and the Persians erstwhile morest the Athenians and their Delian league. A plague thrill Athens in 4301, and Pericles was kicked out, tho(prenominal) to be rein unhurt groundd unity year later, practicedifiedly originally dieing of the plague. The war then contuse down and was about to end with the tentative write of a 50 year recreation treaty in 4211 amongst Sparta and Athens. However, in 4201, Alcibiades, a efflux student of Socrates, who Socrates protected in 4321, at the battle of Potidaea, became the consort General. In 4161, Alcibiades assumed Melos, and viciously kil conduct the men and enslaved the women and children, rase though they had surrendered. Socrates remained silent, which led some to indict him of having double standards. In 4151, Alcibiades led an hostile expedition into Sicily, but was recalled to hardihood the stimulate of defacing a statue of Hermes. He fled to Sparta, where he helped the Spartans overthrow Athens? nation and re dictated it with the tyranny of the four-hundred1. In 4041, Athens shake off to the Spartans, who placed the thirty tyrants in control, the leader of which was Critias, some other hotshot of Socrates? former students. The body politic was restored cardinal year later, likely conservation Socrates? life, since he had disobeyed a accost order from the 30 to capture Leon of Salamis. another(prenominal) onset to overthrow the democracy toke place in 4011, and it over again featured Socrates? former pupils. This attempt is defeated and in 3991, Socrates was tried and convicted of ?corrupting the youth? and ?not believing in the say religion?. Freedom of speech. Athens was ane of, if not the, genuinely first civilizations in which this was one of the main tenants of its laws . However, Athenians would put divagation these laws whenever they saw a little terror to their dominant place in the Greek world. In Socrates? case, it was just now because they needed someone to slang down for their pathetic redness to Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, and as Alcibiades and Critias were not on hand, they unflinching on Socrates. He was elect because the trey sets of traitors were all lead by people who had listened to him coiffe his right to free speech. Thus, the Athenian people decided that to continue their warning, they had to make an exception, like the Americans did in Vietnam, or like every other civilization has through at some brain in their history. Innocent until proven guilty. This was another part of the Athenian rarified that was again tossed diversion to protect the ideal from a sensed threat. During the runnel, no test was brought forward that Socrates had intentionally or even unintentionally demoralise the youth or that he did not believe in the state religion. In fact, the only statements that did not pertain to Socrates? character reference went towards the talk of the Oracle at Delphi and how Apollo?s priestess had make believen him the shaper inspiration to do what he did. insincere ideal. As say before, an ideal is something that is perfect. For Athenians to concern their ideal, they bust from it. This is one of the moral read/write heads that entertain been a matter of bowl over since the starting time of homophilekind. still Socrates himself did not answer this question adequately, though he did give us an interesting interpretation of what a just man is, which is at odds with the Athenian ideal. However, the general consensus is that to chemise an ideal to uphold it defeats the purpose of having the ideal.

Since the Athenians matt-up the need to return from their ideal to uphold it, it exposes one of two things. Either, it exposed the limits of the ideal, such that it could not survive since you would need to break from it to quash all threat, or it should the limit in that no practitioner of the ideal could uphold it without feeling the need to break from it. Either way, the trial of Socrates exposed a serious tarnish in the ideal. In conclusion, the trial of Socrates exposed the limits of the Athenian ideal in three ways. First, the trial relied on breaking from the ideal of freedom of speech to chance on a guilty verdict. Second, the guilty verdict was put in without any proof, breaking from another part of the ideal. And thirdly, and perhaps closely importantly, the trial exposed the impracticality of the ideal in that it could not be practiced without needing to break from it. ?Socrates Chronology. UMKC train of Law. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/socrates/socrateschrono.html (accessed November 6, 2008). Hooker, Richard. quaint Greece: The Persian Wars. uppercase State University - Pullman, Washington. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PERSIAN.HTM (accessed November 7, 2008). Hooker, Richard. old-fashioned Greece: The Pelopponesian War. Washington State University - Pullman, Washington. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PELOWARS.HTM (accessed November 7, 2008). Timeline: a history of free speech. The Guardian.com - The Observer. 5 Feb. 2006. 6 Nov. 2008 . alibi of Socrates (by Plato). UMKC inform of Law. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/socrates/xenophonapology.html (accessed November 8, 2008). Plato, and gum benjamin Jowett. The Internet Classics account | Apology by Plato. The Internet Classics roll: 441 searchable works of classical literature. http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html (accessed November 8, 2008). Plato, translated by G.M.A. Grube. Platos Republic. Indianapolis: Hckett produce Company, 1974. * line of descent*: my footnotes didnt copy, so sourcing is incomplete. Uploaded file has come apart (but not perfect format) citations. If you destiny to get a in force(p) essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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