The Death of Socrates

“The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways - I to die, and you to live. Which is better only god knows.”
― Socrates

One day in 399 B.C. at dusk after sunset, Socrates, the wisest and best of men, hurried the glass of hemlock that will produce death, in the presence of his close friends who desolate attend the moral fortitude with which he faces the judgment. Socrates was 70 or 71 years old. An unjust sentence, following the infamous complaints of three opportunist, envious and resentful citizens with their teacher, made in a favorable overall environment for it, killed the teacher and gave him everlasting fame that in no way could suspect his contemporaries.

Since then until now we have not stopped to wonder in amazement how it was possible that the world's first democracy condemned "the best man … of which … we met, and, very prominently, the smarter and more just" with the expression Plato just ends his dialog "Phaedo".

We have several accounts of the death of Socrates, the main of Plato, his disciple, which focuses on this issue two of his "Dialogues": the "Defense or Apology of Socrates" in which the philosopher himself dismantled the arguments of his accusers and courageously assumed the unjust sentence, and the Phaedo, known with the subtitle "On the immortality of the soul", but certainly his real intention is to exalt the exemplary figure of Socrates. He also makes reference to it on other dialogues, as in the Crito and Euthyphro. The death of Socrates certainly deeply impressed his disciple Plato.

Another disciple, Xenophon (circa 431 BC-354 BC), wrote "Memories of Socrates" and a brief Apology in which naturally recalls his unjust condemnation and death.

Socrates was accused basically of three crimes: to introduce new gods and to despise existing, to transform with the art of the word the truth into falsehood without respecting the law, to corrupt the youth.

Plato makes Socrates remove all the accusations of his opponents in his Apology.
See the explanation of themain reasons of his death at http://www.antiquitatem.com/en/socrates-condemned-apology-the-clouds

Plato narrates in Phaedo the last days of Socrates' life, especially the latter, one in which with all serenity and grief of his friends he hurries the glass of hemlock, which paralyzes your muscles to final death.

Note: hemlock or cicuta is abundant in our geographical mediterranean area; it is similar to parsley or fennel, and it has a neurotoxin that inhibits the function of the central nervous system and causes paralysis rising from the extremities to paralyze muscles and essential functions like heart and breathing and cause death accordingly. Its effect is similar to that produced by the Amazonian curare.

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