The Portrait of Socrates in Plato’s Apology, Essay Example

In Plato’s Apology, the famed philosopher offers a defense of Socrates written as if Socrates himself was speaking. Socrates had been accused of various crimes and transgressions by the Athenian government, including a charge that he was responsible for corrupting the youth of Athens. Because the tome of the Apology is largely oratorical, yet somewhat informal, there is no strong thesis as such; Socrates –as described by Plato- merely exhorts that those who sit in judgment consider “only the truth of (his) words” and “let the speaker speak truly and decide justly.” Xenophon also wrote an apologia – or explanation/defense- for Socrates, though his account appears to be rooted largely in the facts of the matter as he recalls them. Plato, by contrast, uses the opportunity to provide both an argumentative defense and a fairly rich biography (or pseudo-autobiography) of Socrates.

By shaping the Apology as a long and slightly-rambling speech delivered by a brilliant but tired old man, Plato humanizes his subject in a way that mere facts could never do (which is why Xenophon’s take on the matter is not nearly as well-known or revered as Plato’s account).  In Plato’s Apology, Socrates begins by addressing the charges leveled against him; he then moves on to discussing what sort of punishment he should receive if found guilty, and finally offers his last thoughts about his life, his sentence, and his children. In between Socrates moves from one subject to another seemingly at random, though there is an overall cohesive feel to his arguments. In shaping it as he did, Plato managed to make Socrates’ appeal to the judges seem quite real, despite filling it with details and asides that were very likely not poken verbatim or otherwise by Socrates.

In the opening lines of the Apology, Socrates immediately calls his accusers liars. Such a strong, declarative position hooks the reader in with the promise that Socrates will prove this assertion to be true. By the conclusion, it is clear that Socrates is resigned to his fate, He is no longer brash and confrontational; once he made his point, he knew there was no more to be said. In the final lines he proclaims “the hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways –I to die and you to live. Which is better God only knows.” In the Apology, Plato creates a vivid portrait of Socrates the human being and Socrates the philosopher.

Source

Project Gutenberg,. ‘Apology By Plato’. Web. 12 Jun. 2014.