Escape of Socrates

The Escape of Socrates

The Escape of Socrates sounds more like an epic historic documentary directed by Oliver Stone than a critic paper based on Socrates life. This paper is based on the possibility of escape for Socrates during his imprisonment and whether it affected his choice to remain imprison and accept his fate. I will fight that virtue and age actually determined his fate. Had he been a few decades younger he may have brought forth a stronger defense for himself during his trial or possibly escaped other than accept death.

The period in which Socrates lived was called the Golden Age of Athens. The Greeks defeated the invading Persians, and now peace and prosperity took place in Greece that ushered in a period of artistic and cultural achievement. Socrates was born in Athens around 470 BC, he married Xanthippe and she bore 3 sons. He was hardly an ideal husband; his time was preoccupied with his search for wisdom and often neglected his family. Socrates was educated by Anaxagoras, a famous early philosopher of Greece. He came to believe through his teachings to be a kind of nuisance to the people of Athens by provoking them to recognizing their moral intelligence.

In 399 BC Socrates was put on trial for atheism (not believing in the gods of Athens) and corrupting the youth (by teaching them to question everything). In the end, the jury found Socrates guilty and condemned him to death. Now you can find most of this information in any encyclopedia that will summarize Socrates' life and trial. But many do not say how his execution was delayed for a month and he had ample time to escape.

"Socrates, I do not think what you are doing is just, to give up your life when you can save it." (Crito p.45) This statement is by this friend Crito as he visits him before his execution, he doesn't believe he must die for his beliefs, as well as he doesn't think it is fair to leave his sons "I think you betraying your sons by going away and leaving them, when you could bring them up and educate them. You thus show no concern for what their fate might be." (p. 46) Socrates being 70 years old at the time knew that he didn't have much time so refused. If this execution and trial would have taken place when Socrates was in his forties or fifties perhaps he would have escape the prison and went into exile where he might have lived the rest of his days in shame, but this would be humiliating to anyone. However, he would have been able to teach his sons of what he has learned throughout his life, through his sons his mission to teach virtue could live on. Socrates also wrote absolutely nothing, most of our knowledge of him comes through the testimonies by Plato and Xenophon. Today we would have been able to learn more about Socrates and the knowledge of his life had he escaped and written dialogues of his principles and conversations that he was accused. This sort of action would be against what Socrates stands for, virtue will have no meaning to him had he done this and feels