Benefactor or Threat
Benefactor or Threat? Socrates and the City of Athens Socrates was a man of two personas. To his followers and the youth of Athens he was considered a wise, just and true man whose ideals regarding self awareness and virtue were the wise words of a wondering prophet. To his enemies and ultimately to a majority of Athenians, he was viewed as a dissenting threat to Athens and her people, a wandering fool with the ability to corrupt the youth, which were notorious for following him. Because of his frequent criticism of Athenian Democracy and his disdain for self-rule, I feel that indeed Socrates was a threat to Athens, and that death was the only means through which Athens could deal with him and his transgressions. Socrates was born in Athens around 469 B.C. Though research has led us to believe that he was raised a sculptor like his father, he ultimately abandoned it. Socrates went into the service when the Peloponnesian war broke out, and he was lauded by the people of Athens for his bravery and strength. At this point in time, many people in Athens considered him a hero. In 406 BC there was a trial involving the generals of an Athenian fleet – accusing them of not picking up the survivors and the dead from the battle. Soc . . .
It is obvious that the Athenians view of Socrates was correct, for even during the trial he used the same condensations and icy tone he had used when bashing the Athenian government for being wrong. During this time, these were the main meeting places pf the people. At one point, the Thirty Tyrants asked Socrates and 4 other men to go and arrest someone. In fact, they would often murder wealthy people simply because they wanted their lands or riches. Indianaoplis/Cambridge 2002 Brickhouse, Thomas C. He was a threat to the Athenian people and during his defense basically asked the jury to make him a martyr. A Spartan commander named Lysander formed an oligargy known as the Thirty Tyrants.
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