In the Apology, Socrates defends himself before the court of Athens. He has been put on trail for corrupting the youth of Athens, while not recognizing Gods that are recognized by the State and inventing new deities. The format of the Apology is mostly that of Socrates's monologue, in which, unlike the Euthyphyro, he does not face an interlocutor. Because there is no one particular claim for him to dismantle, he instead lays out the method of his disassembling of these claims. Socrates's method includes identifying what he thinks his interlocutor knows and slowly dissecting those claims. This process of showing the falsehoods in what they had always thought to be true, in his opinion, made them wiser. By making them wiser, Socrates concluded that he was improving society, as he was a believer that wisdom was closely related to virtue. While trying to convince the court of Athens of his innocence, Socrates compared himself to a gadfly, which is a persistent or irritating fly. Socrates claims that although he is annoying at times, he can help the state become productive and righteous.
             Socrates explains that his actions stem from the oracle of Delphi, which claimed that he was the wisest of all men. He then realizes that because he is not well knowledgeable in many worldly areas, his wisdom lies in the fact that he knows that he knows nothing at all. Socrates states that he is now better off the less he thinks he knows. In doing this, he confesses his ignorance, and he also claims that his interlocutors are even more ignorant than him for not yet succumbing to his theory. This is Plato's first example of Socratic irony. Socrates is found guilty and is sentenced to death. He accepts
             the penalty, knowing that he does not know what happens after death so it would be foolish to be afraid of what he doesn't know.
             In Plato's third dialogue, Socrates is visited by his friend Crito, who wan...