The Invisible Attributes of the Trial
             Over the past two-thousand years a great number of philosophers have contributed their time and efforts to fully understand the views and teachings of the Socratic Method. Plato's Apology generates a feeling of these views by elaborating the very essence of how Socrates conducted himself in the public discourse of his life. Perhaps many of us have wondered if the accusations that Meletus presented were truly the reasons for reproving such a man in front of the "people of Athens." But it may be that many of us have overlooked some of the factors that could have contributed to Socrates' eventual downfall. Socrates, after all, may have been somebody that was generated into someone "we" wanted him to be. These are some of the viewpoints that we must examine to truly comprehend if Socrates, as written by many of his students, was truly a man of glorified virtue.
             As many of his contemporaries noted, Socrates was on trial for many accusations. Among these indictments was the charge of corrupting the youth, and making the weaker argument the stronger. At least one of the colleagues his accusers had in mind was a young student and associate of Socrates' named Alcibiades. Alcibiades was a general in the Athenian army during the Second Peloponnesian War. When in Sicily on a military expedition, Alcibiades destroyed some idols in a local temple and when called back to Athens to face charges of sacrilege, he fled. On another occasion, as part of a military strategy, Alcibiades orchestrated the dissolution of Athens' democracy of twenty years. Although this was a short-term military success, Athenians resented this maneuver. In the eyes of the Athenians, Socrates was blamed for misguiding Alcibiades. Many have said that Socrates was merely attempting to guide Alcibiades through his teachings. But it may have been Plato, along with other followers, who neglected to mention if Soc...