Socrates Downfall

Socrates was unjustly convicted in 399 BC by a group of five hundred of his fellow Athenians who charged him with impiety and sentenced him to death. Impiety was prominent throughout the kingdom but Socrates was convicted without hard evidence that he practiced it. Socrates was obsessed with wisdom and he made many enemies on his quest to be wise. His beliefs ld him to challenge many important people including politicians, religious leaders, poets, and artisans. Socrates believed in evaluating ones self which included personal morals and virtue. This led to Socrates embarking on his mission to correct the wrongs of society. Socrates traveled to meet many leaders who he sought to see if they were wiser than him. In many cases they were not as …show more content…
Part of the evidence that was presented against Socrates was that he was corrupting the youth of Athens with his false doctrines. Socrates was also charged with encouraging evil actions like attempting to destabilize society. His constant battles with high ranking officials led to his demise as they were afraid that he would expose them. These officials were using their status for personal gain and Socrates was out on a mission to reveal their true intentions. His enemies, however, used his thirst for wisdom against him and proclaimed that he was trying to seek the intentions of the gods which is forbidden in their beliefs. Furthermore, Socrates was a very confrontational individual who was hated by many of the people he debated with. His growing number of enemies led to them investigating his life to seek revenge. The people of Athens believed that the sun and moon were two gods and so they worshiped them. One of Socrates’ accusers stated that Socrates did not worship these gods and accused him of preaching false doctrine to destroy the Athenian society. Socrates states that he doesn’t believe that the sun and moon should be worshiped, rather, one should worship a supernatural