(H/B) WHY SOCRATES DIED

Παρουσίαση

Socrates’ trial and death together form an iconic moment in Western civilization. The picture we have of it - created by his immediate followers and perpetuated in countless works of literature and art ever since - is that a noble man was put to death in a fit of folly by the ancient Athenian democracy. But an icon, an image, is not reality. The explicit accusation of impiety and corrupting the youth was potentially lethal in itself, but the prosecutors also asserted or implied that Socrates was not just an atheist and the guru of a weird sect, but an elitist who surrounded himself with politically undesirable characters and had been the teacher of those who had lost them a war. What is more, as Robin Waterfield shows, there was a great deal of truth, from an Athenian perspective, in these charges. The trial was, in part, a response to troubled times - a catastrophic war and turbulent social changes - and so provides a good lens through which to explore the history of the period; the historical facts in turn allow us to strip away some of the veneer that has for so long denied us glimpses of the real Socrates. Why Socrates Died is an accessible, authoritative account of one of the defining periods of Western civilization. (From the publisher)