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Socrates died in 399 B.C.E by forced suicide after a jury of his Athenian peers found him guilty of "impiety" and "corrupting the youth." All That's Interesting history
Athenian law prescribed death by drinking a cup of poison hemlock. Socrates drank the hemlock, was condemned at trial, and executed his death sentence. The great philosopher never rejected his beliefs and chose death instead of living a life of shame as an exiled old man. Updated on February 17, 2024.
In H24H 24§45, I quote and analyze the passage in Plato’s Phaedo 117a–118a where Socrates dies. His last words, as transmitted by Plato, are directed at all those who have followed Socrates—and who have had the unforgettable experience of engaging in dialogue with him.
'The whole context in which Socrates drinks the hemlock, namely, his trial, the verdict and the drinking of hemlock as his sentence, is what is important; he does not commit suicide because he takes the hemlock in the context of an execution by the state of Athens.'
Athenians carried out Socrates’ death sentence by compelling him to drink a mixture containing poison hemlock. According to Plato’s “Phaedo,” Socrates faced his death with calmness and composure, engaging in philosophical discourse until his final moments.
Why did Athens condemn Socrates to death? Socrates was widely hated in Athens, mainly because he regularly embarrassed people by making them appear ignorant and foolish. He was also an outspoken critic of democracy , which Athenians cherished, and he was associated with some members of the Thirty Tyrants , who briefly overthrew Athens’s ...
He was arguably guilty of the crimes with which he was charged, impiety and corrupting the youth, because he did reject the city’s gods and he did inspire disrespect for authority among his youthful followers (though that was not his intention). He was accordingly convicted and sentenced to death by poison.
THE DEATH OF SOCRATES THE scene at the end of the Phaedo, in which Plato describes how Socrates dies by poisoning from hemlock, is moving and impressive. It gives us the sense of witnessing directly an actual event, accurately and vividly described, the death of the historical Socrates. There are, however, certain curious features
Twice in Plato’s dialogues (Symposium 173b, Theaetetus 142c–143a), fact-checking with Socrates took place as his friends sought to commit his conversations to writing before he was executed.
It is rarely, if at all, thought that Socrates committed suicide; but such was the case, or so I want to suggest. My suggestion turns not upon any new interpretation of ancient sources but rather upon seeking a determination of the concept of suicide itself.