The Court Trial of Socrates

The trial and subsequent execution of the great philosopher Socrates has long puzzled academics and historians. We will first briefly examine the case against Socrates, and then speculate as to what would occur if he were to be tried in court today.

Socrates was neither a democrat nor an egalitarian. He did not believe that democracy was an efficient or laudable form of governance. Rather, he believed that citizens lacked the basic virtue that was necessary to build and nurture a good society. He eagerly criticized the foundations of Athenian democracy, deriding the fact that every citizen of that proud city had the right to speak in the Assembly. When the Athenian democracy was briefly overthrown twice by some of Socrates' ex-pupils, the p

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