The death of Socrates was controversial even before it happened- the most well-known and widely read account on the subject is from Socrates himself, reported through Plato’s narration. The circumstances of the execution are contested not only in terms of determining historicity or discerning the historical fact, but also the manner of interpreting the content itself. Whether the death was a suicide, using the legal system as a noose instead of being found guilty and convicted; to what extent was his megalegoria a tool for him to dig his own grave, or was he speaking sincerely? If Socrates’ goal was to martyr himself, how successful was he, if at all? The choice to categorize Socrates as a martyr at all, much less judging the consequences
