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Essay on Plato's Apology
Plato's Apology: An Introduction
Plato's Apology is in the widest meaning an example of forensic oratory, in which Socrates defends himself in court against his accusers. The Apology is also an important example of a rather extensive literature intended to defend Socrates against his opponents and to acquaint with what his defenders thought to be the real Socrates. Lastly, it should be seen that the Apology is a set of speeches recreated by a second party after the fact and for that reason should not be considered a reproduction of what Socrates said on that time.
The Apology brings into play a courtroom crisis. The well-known philosopher of ancient Greece, Socrates himself, is on trial for his life. As the seventy-year-old Socrates presents his argument by bringing in the attention a wealth of philosophic concerns i.e. what the good life is and whether "the unexamined life is not worth living"--the nature of political power, the basis of religious conviction, questions about death and dying, whether truth exists, and a method of philosophic argument and dialogue.
Apostle: A Historical background
Socrates was born near Athens in 469 BCE and was put to death seventy years later, in 399 BCE, by drinking the poison made from the hemlock plant. He wrote no books, so what is known of him that has been based on the generally contradictory word portraits given to by the comedian playwright Aristophanes, the Greek historian Xenophon, and by the philosopher Plato. Socrates' personality was charismatic; in appearance, though, he was well known for his lack of good looks. He had a large, turned-up nose, bulging eyes, and a big stomach, and a way of looking at those he was speaking with. He would lower his head, and then fleeting looks sideways or upward at them....................
