Socrates: The Decline Of Athenian Democracy
Socrates (469-399 BCE) lived during the time of transition from the height of the Athenian hegemony to its decline with the defeat by Sparta and its allies in the Peloponnesian War. This was a time when Athens sought to stabilize and recover from its defeat. The Athenian public had started to contemplate the effectiveness of democracy as a governmental system. At the latter end of his life he was charged with teaching the youth to “disrespect” the gods of the city. Socrates was convicted of these charges and sentenced to death. However, Socrate was offered a reprieve if he were to give up teaching philosophy, however he refused this reprieval. Socrates would find life meaningless without philosophy, and would rather die than give up in purpose
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Socrates was, for his times, an intellectual leader. He did not fear nor hesitate when it came to spreading knowledge, no matter at what cost. His ideologies threatened political and religious dogmas of Ancient Greece. He believed in monotheism, the belief in one God, which went against the Ancient Greek religious thinking. It was this condemnation of Greek Gods which lead him to his trial and death. This comes as a very inspirational tale. For someone to talk about their own beliefs without the fear of oppression by such a great power, the government, and the public, it shows how much will power such a man like socrates had. His willing to go against traditional thinking should speak to us and inspire us all to do the same. We are all individuals people with our own opinions and we should not be afraid to speak our minds, at any cost. There is a lot of problems with conforming the a typical way of thinking, and this is what Socrates life tries to tell us. we should not be afraid to express our own opinions and our own views. This is what Socrates had done. He defended his position during his trial instead of proving himself innocent of any fault. We should never back down from expressing our opinions, even if it has catastrophic repercussions. Moreover, when in prison, Socrates was given a chance to escape in exile instead of facing death, however he declined the offer. He held his principles intact instead of fleeing. Socrates chose the high road. What kind of message would it have conveyed if Socrates fled from what he knew would be his destiny. This shows the amount of discipline he had. Which should really speak to us and inspire us
Socrates was, for his times, an intellectual leader. He did not fear nor hesitate when it came to spreading knowledge, no matter at what cost. His ideologies threatened political and religious dogmas of Ancient Greece. He believed in monotheism, the belief in one God, which went against the Ancient Greek religious thinking. It was this condemnation of Greek Gods which lead him to his trial and death. This comes as a very inspirational tale. For someone to talk about their own beliefs without the fear of oppression by such a great power, the government, and the public, it shows how much will power such a man like socrates had. His willing to go against traditional thinking should speak to us and inspire us all to do the same. We are all individuals people with our own opinions and we should not be afraid to speak our minds, at any cost. There is a lot of problems with conforming the a typical way of thinking, and this is what Socrates life tries to tell us. we should not be afraid to express our own opinions and our own views. This is what Socrates had done. He defended his position during his trial instead of proving himself innocent of any fault. We should never back down from expressing our opinions, even if it has catastrophic repercussions. Moreover, when in prison, Socrates was given a chance to escape in exile instead of facing death, however he declined the offer. He held his principles intact instead of fleeing. Socrates chose the high road. What kind of message would it have conveyed if Socrates fled from what he knew would be his destiny. This shows the amount of discipline he had. Which should really speak to us and inspire us