| Socrates: Guilty or Innocent Despite of the outcome of his trial in 3rd century b.c. Athens, Socrates was innocent of the crime of corrupting the youth of Athens. In fact the opposite could be said, even the Alkibiades, a young man who committed numerous crimes against the city of Athens, claims the only time he ever felt remorse for what he did, was when in the presence of Socrates. Socrates did not approach the youth of Athens in hopes of corrupting them and turning them away from Athens, he spoke for anyone who wanted to listen. When Socrates was speaking the streets and markets of Athens, the youth flocked to him and eagerly sought to learn from him. Socrates didn’t solicit their money or their time, they approached him of their own free will and Socrates states in the Apology , “that into whatever place I go, as here so also there, the young men will come to me…”(37) Socrates couldn’t help that the young men wanted to hear what he had to say. If Socrates wasn’t responsible for their decision to learn from him, it can’t be said he’s guilty of corrupting the youth, because they were exercising their free will. It was claimed that Alkibiades turned against Athens because of his acquaintance with Socrates, and all his dishonorably acts were because of what he learned from Socrates. However, Alkibiades himself claimed the opposite was true. They only person who made him regret his crimes was Socrates. As he said it himself in Plato’s Symposium, “[Socrates] is the only person who ever made me ashamed, which you might think not to be in my nature, and there is no one else who does the same.” (37) The worst of Athens’ youth says that the effect Socrates had on him, was not only the opposite of corruption, but is saying that Socrates is the only one that seems to have any positive effect on his behavior. Considering the fact that the worse example of Athens’ youth’s decline wasn’t corrupted by Socrates’ influence, it would stand to reason that Socrates’ wasn’t corrupting the other youth in any way either. Only one thing casts any doubt on the accuracy of the previous accounts, they were both recorded by Plato, Socrates most fervent follower. The apology had to be fairly accurate in order to avoid criticism by enemies of Socrates, and the Alkibiades words in the Symposium were probably based on Plato’s knowledge of Alkibiades’ and Socrates’ relationship. And as Niko says in Renault’s Mask of Apollo, “If he was really such a man as Plato makes him, then his death was murder…”(79) Plato respected Socrates’ very much, and its likely that his accounts of him are for the most part true to his character. Socrates did not corrupt the youth, they came to them of their own free will, and despite allegations any influence he had on them was for the better. Plato, a young man himself at the time of Socrates’ death, respected Socrates as a great and honorable man. Socrates’ nobility affected even Alkibiades the traitor. by P. R. (no, that doesn't stand for puerto rican. Pat was so embarassed at that fact that he had written such filth he told me not to post his name). |