Socrates

Socrates: The Life of an Ancient Philosopher By: AA [[Start->Intro]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

Linder, Douglas O. "The Trial of Socrates." Famous Trials. Accessed February 9, 2022. https://famous-trials.com/socrates/833-home. Planeaux, Christopher. "The Thirty Tyrants." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified November 13, 2015. https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Thirty_Tyrants/. Salisbury, Joyce E., and Gregory S. Aldrete. "Athens: Ancient World." Daily Life through History. Last modified 2022. https://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1425916. "Socrates." In Arts and Humanities through the Eras, edited by Edward I. Bleiberg, James Allan Evans, Kristen Mossler Figg, Philip M. Soergel, and John Block Friedman, 250-54. Vol. 2. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2005. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3427400293/WHIC?u=cinc13591&sid=bookmark-WHIC&xid=fd4957d5. [[Back->Title]]

Your name is Socrates. You were born in Athens in 468 BCE as the son of a stonemason and a midwife; a middle to lower class household. Currently you are married and have three children. You are a philosopher who is against the democratic values of Athens-you believe that the most efficient form of government would be a wise oligarchy since not everyone in a city-state is wise enough to make decisions. You've come to this conclusion after questioning countless government officials who claim to be wise and realizing that they are not. It is currently 403 BCE and Athens is being led by the [[Thirty Tyrants->Thirty]]. This is the government that you had wished for, a wise oligarchy, but there is a problem. In addition to wanting an oligarchy, you also believe in peace, and this strict government does not follow that. Luckily, one of your students is a high-ranking member of the Thirty, so you can attempt to advise him to adopt a less strict form of government; the only downside to this is you don't know what the rest of the Thirty will do to you, and you don't want to be punished for protesting something that doesn't affect you. You have two choices. [[Advise the Thiry->Choice 2 Protest]] [[Stay Quiet->Choice 2 Not]]

You decided to protest for what you believe was right, and it worked! Throughout the rest of their regime, they adopted a more peaceful type of government, but still, the regime didn't last. Four years have passed now and the year is 399 BCE; a lot has changed. An uprising by the Athenian citizens caused the defeat of the Thirty Tyrants, leaving Athens with the democratic government that you so hate and the unwise government officials you despise. But there is another problem: you've been accused by the poet Meletus of impiety and corrupting the youth, and you now have a court date. Hopefully, your decision to protest the Thirty will give you some leverage in the initial hearings, but you still must decide how to defend yourself in court. Your disciples, including Plato, tell you to apologize to the judges in hopes that they will be easy on you. You, on the other hand, feel that the judges don't deserve respect since. These are the same government officials that you have ridiculed your whole life in front of Athenian citizens. Although switching your attitude towards them may grant you a lighter punishment, it could also result in a huge loss of respect, not only from your followers, but also a loss of self-respect and dignity. You have two choices. [[Apologize->Apologize Protest]] [[Defend Yourself->Defend Protest]]

You decided to stay quiet to avoid punishment so the Thirty continued their strict government system, but the regime didn't last. Four years have passed and the year is now 399 BCE and a lot has changed. An uprising by the Athenian citizens caused the defeat of the Thirty Tyrants, leaving Athens with the democratic government that you so hate and the unwise government officials you despise. But there is another problem: you've been accused by the poet Meletus of impiety and corrupting the youth, and you now have a court date. Although your earlier decision to remain quiet may have gained you short-term security, it's not going to help you now in court. Now what you need to decide is how you are going to defend yourself in court. Your disciples, including Plato, tell you to apologize to the judges in hopes that they will be easy on you. You, on the other hand, feel that the judges don't deserve respect since, throughout the entirety of your life, you have ridiculed these officials in front of many citizens. Although switching your attitude towards them may grant you a lighter punishment, it can also result in a huge loss of respect from your followers and your own self-respect. You have two choices. [[Apologize->Apologize Not]] [[Defend Yourself->Defend Not]]

Following the defeat of Athens against Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, the Thirty Tyrants, also known as 'the Thirty,' took control of Athens. The Thirty were infamous for their brutal and violent actions against the citizens throughout their regime. [[Back->Intro]]

You decide to apologize to the judges for what you did, and even if you didn't want to...it works out. In a close vote between the 500 jurors, 260 vote for your acquittal, which means you are free to go. After a while, you realize that you are starting to lose followers since they lack respect for you for apologizing. By apologizing to the judges, you not only went against your values, but you also openly admitted to corrupting the Athenian youth and teaching them about false gods. You need to come up with a solution if you want to remain a respected philosopher. Luckily your disciples have already planned for this: you and your closest students leave to a nearby town where you can spread your philosophy freely. You continue this lifestyle up until the day you peacefully die alongside your disciples. [[Play Again->Intro]]

You defend yourself and stand for what you truly believed in. You didn't respect these judges, they were frauds. Unfortunately, because of this decision now the judges have moved you onto the sentencing phase of the trial. To start off this phase they ask you what you wish for your punishment to be and you offer to pay one mina of silver, worth roughly one-fifth of your net worth; the judges reject this initially. Your followers start to pitch in and raise 30 mina to pay to the judges. The judges accept this under one condition: you would no longer be able to spread your philosophy. You would no longer be able to practice the only thing in your life that you feel gives you value in this world. However, you do have two other choices of punishment. One would be to request exile, where the only positive will be remaining alive. The negative to this decision is that no one from your town will respect you and the city you go to may view you as a criminal 'on the run.' The second option would be to make one final statement, that your teaching is beneficial, and request the judges for free food for the rest of your life since you feel that you need to be rewarded; this option could lead to a harsher punishment for ridiculing the judges. [[Pay the Fine->Mina Fine Not]] [[Exile->Exile]] [[Free Food->Death]]

You decide to apologize to the judges, which will hopefully help you later on in the trial. Unfortunately, you were still voted guilty in a close vote between the judges, and you are now moving on to the sentencing phase of the trial. To start off this phase they ask you what you wish for your punishment to be and you offer to pay one mina of silver, worth roughly one-fifth of your net worth. They accept this under one condition, that you refrain from spreading your philosophy indefinitely. You value your philosophy as equivalent to your own life, so this is a tough decision. You have two choices. [[Pay the Fine->Mina Fine Not]] [[Reject the offer->30 But Okay]]

You defend yourself and stand for what you truly believe in. You don't respect these judges; they're frauds. Unfortunately, because of this decision now the judges have moved you onto the sentencing phase of the trial. The judges reject all offers to pay a fine, and there doesn't seem to be much hope. However, you do have two other choices of punishment. One would be to request exile, where the only positive will be avoiding death. The negatives to this decision will be that no one from your town will respect you and the city you leave to may view you as a criminal 'on the run.' The second option would be to make one final statement, that your teaching is beneficial, and request the judges for free food for the rest of your life since you feel that you need to be rewarded; this option could lead to a harsher punishment for ridiculing the judges. [[Exile->Exile]] [[Free Food->Death]]

You paid the fine and were let out. You aren't happy. You kick your wife and kids out of your house, and you think by yourself. Your philosophy was your only reason for living. You sit alone inside your home, shut-off from the rest of the world for the next month and half and you make your decision. You are going to kill yourself. At the age of 71, you hang yourself since you feel you no longer have purpose in life. [[Play Again->Intro]]

You reject this offer. Since your only purpose in life is to spread philosophy, you would rather die. Luckily, your followers start to pitch in and raise 30 mina to pay to the judges. The judges accept this offer, and you are free to go. You live the rest of your life exactly how you had planned. Although you were defamed from the trial and many no longer respect you, you are still a teacher of many, which is all you really wanted. You continue this favored lifestyle for the rest of your life. [[Play Again->Intro]]

You and your followers flee to a nearby town where you attempt to continue your previous lifestyle of teaching. To your surprise, the dwellers of the town have already heard the news of how you bailed out and went against all your values. No one listens to you, and you are not able to spread your philosophy. Your philosophy was your only reason worth living. After a lot of thought you decide that there is no reason to remain living. At the age of 72 you kill yourself in front of your disciples. [[Play Again->Intro]]

You request free food for the rest of your life and the judges are enraged. They sentence you to death by poisoning. You happily and confidently drink the poison and live your last hours in a prison cell, surrounded with your disciples, waiting to die. You have a prideful death at 71 years old and you are regarded as a hero to your followers. [[Play Again->Intro]]