Socrates

       Today in class we dove deeper into Socrates. However first we talked about Athens. Athens was a great city that attracted brilliant workers. Visitors from all over travelled there and shared their knowledge. They shared their knowledge of astronomy, medicine, meteorology, literature, philosophy, and a lot of other scientific things. Athens was often at odds with traditional teachings which centered around Greek Gods,which got young people thinking and questioning.
       Socrates was charged with two crimes. He was charged with the corruption of Athens' youth. Impiety which believing in the Gods of the state.
       His defense to these accusations was that its his job is to be a gadfly to the lazy sluggish horse that is Athens. He believed he should actually be rewarded with free dinners for life for all the things he does.
       He was put up against a jury of 500 Male citizens who found him guilty. The vote was 279-221. He was sentenced to death by drinking hemlock poison. He had the opportunity to escape but refused. This proved his loyalty to Athenian Democracy.
       An idiot in Athenian Democracy was someone who was characterized by self-centeredness and concerned almost exclusively with private--- as opposed to public---affairs. In Athenian Democracy, idiots were born and made citizens through education. Declining to take part in public life, such as democratic government of the polis(city-state), was considered dishonorable.