Socrates Was Just THIRTY Votes From Freedom… #Shorts
Pack: 51 - Socrates Was Just THIRTY Votes From Freedom…
By his own count, Socrates was thirty votes from walking free. Then he refused to beg. The trial of 399 BCE in Plato's words, with ancient portraits, the Athenian Agora and the jurors' allotment machine.
- In 399 BCE, at 70, Socrates was tried in Athens for impiety and corrupting the youth, and convicted by a jury of citizens (Britannica).
- In Plato's Apology he says that "had thirty votes gone over to the other side, I should have been acquitted" (Apology 36a, tr. Jowett).
- Asked to propose a penalty, he suggested free meals in the Prytaneum, which he said he deserved more than an Olympic victor, and then a fine of 30 minae (Apology 36d–38b).
- He told the jury "the unexamined life is not worth living" and would rather die "having spoken after my manner" (Apology 38a, 38e).
- A sacred voyage delayed his execution about thirty days; he refused to escape and drank the poison, probably hemlock (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Britannica).
Should he have begged for his life? Tell us in the comments. Full story in our documentary, The Full History of Greece. Watch the full documentary: https://youtu.be/k3mrc7OCCNk
Quick answers
What is “Socrates Was Just THIRTY Votes From Freedom…” about?
By his own count, Socrates was thirty votes from walking free. Then he refused to beg. The trial of 399 BCE in Plato's words, with ancient portraits, the Athenian Agora and the jurors' allotment machine.
What are the key facts?
In 399 BCE, at 70, Socrates was tried in Athens for impiety and corrupting the youth, and convicted by a jury of citizens (Britannica). In Plato's Apology he says that "had thirty votes gone over to the other side, I should have been acquitted" (Apology 36a, tr. Jowett).
What sources is this Short based on?
It cites Plato, Apology, tr. Benjamin Jowett, Project Gutenberg; Britannica, Socrates; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Socrates. Links are in the Sources list below.
Sources
- Plato, Apology, tr. Benjamin Jowett, Project Gutenberg
- Britannica, Socrates
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Socrates
Images
- Socrates, Roman marble after Lysippos (Musei Capitolini) — Daderot — Public domain —
- Kleroterion fragment with bronze ballots (Ancient Agora Museum) — Sharon Mollerus — CC BY 2.0 —
- The Ancient Agora of Athens — George E. Koronaios — CC0 —
- Carnelian gem with a portrait of Socrates — The Metropolitan Museum of Art — CC0 —
- The so-called Prison of Socrates (a legend) — George E. Koronaios — CC0 —
- Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates, 1787, as imagined — The Metropolitan Museum of Art — CC0 —
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