Rough Draft of Ideally, Plato

Title: Plato and the Execution of Socrates
Byline: By Mercy Sherman
Image: <Google search Socrates, first image>

Report:

Introductory Paragraph: Thesis: The execution of Socrates had the greatest impact on Plato because it turned him indefinitely away from the career that had been intended for him, politics, to a life spent trying to understand the ideal government. Plato was driven by his compelling search to understand government, the many different forms, and the different aspects. His main goal in life was to do just that; to decode the what the perfect government would be, and how a nation could fall into that government. Throughout his life, this is what he had striven to accomplish, getting some form of community into what he thought would be the ideal government. As he grew up, Plato was surrounded by political strife, destruction, and disaster in many forms, but it was not until the execution of his great friend, teacher, and mentor, Socrates, that Plato realized what he needed to--or at least would try to--do about it. Because of the terrible execution, which shattered all few shreds of hope Plato had had for a good government being found and carried out in Rome, Plato turned to finding it himself, through writing and philosophy.

Background: Plato was born in 427 BC, into a noble Athenian family, not without relations to Codrus, the last of the legendary kings of Athens; Solon, the great Athenian statesman; the king of Messennia of ancient times; Melanthius, the famous Greek painter; and Charmides and Critias, two members of the oligarchy of the Thirty Tyrants. He was named Aristocles. At the time he was born, Athens was at its prime politically, a powerful democracy, a peaceful state. When Aristocles, Plato, was just a young boy, his father, Ariston, died, leaving his mother, Perictione, to marry her uncle, Pyrilampes, and take him as her second husband. Therefore, Plato was raised in the house of Pyrilampes, and brought up under the teachings of Pericles, a close friend of his stepfather. He also was taught in grammar, music, and gymnastics, as well as other subjects, by the most distinguished teachers of his time. His teachers began to note as his personality developed; the young Aristocles seemed to them artistic, and dialectic, and calm. His temperament was peaceful.  He was smart, kind, almost perfect in personality. As well as in physicality. His gymnastics teacher started calling him Plato, meaning broad, because of his breadth in body.

Also at a young age, unknown, although possibly when Plato was in his teen years, he was enrolled in the school of Cratylus, a prime philosopher and teacher of the age. His teachings followed those of Heraclitus and the Sophists, and he studied them very dearly and with enthusiasm. The vigor with which he studied was apparent, even from that young age, it seems Plato was motivated by that driving force, the pushing of trying to understand the world, first and foremost, and more specifically, the ideal government. It is from Cratylus that Plato received his start in philosophy and poetry, which would be sure to make a huge imprint on his life later on.

In 407 BC, Plato started studying under Socrates. He had known Socrates for many years before; the man was a longtime family friend, and had grown close to him before his studies commenced. But after the studies began, their friendship grew definitively stronger, it was profound, and extreme, and connected; the two bonded immensely through their work together. It was the closest either of them had ever been to another, they felt like two souls intertwined. They had very similar hearts and minds, and quickly, Socrates became not just a friend or a teacher to Plato, but a mentor, a father figure. They were closer than ever. And Plato learned and knew much more than ever.

Meanwhile, in Athens, wars had broken out, and had been going on for the past ten or more years. They were between Sparta, and called the Athens-Sparta Wars, and in 404 BC, Athens was finally defeated in them. The Athenian democracy was replaced with an oligarchy, called the Thirty Tyrants. The before-mentioned Charmides and Critias participated in, Critias with a major role, and Charmides with a much smaller, but still important, role. The oligarchy started to confiscate the possessions, land, and overall estates of all upper class Athenians and resident aliens after a while, and even put many individuals to death for faulty, unfair, and hidden causes. Athens was in defeat and destruction. For sure because of the harsh and dreary times politically that Plato was maturing in, he had already formed an intense yearning to fix it, to understand how his people would most benefit politically, and to try to encourage that. By 403 BC the Athenian oligarchy had transformed into a full-out tyranny.

403 was also the year that the Tyrants made their move on Socrates. In an attempt to implicate him, they gave Socrates the order of arresting Leon of Salamis. The Tyrants did not care to have Leon, but they knew that Socrates, as Leon's friend, would refuse to arrest him for them. And that he did, and so, the Tyrants' attempt had succeeded, and they had reason to take Socrates into custody. But right before the Tyrants had planned to do so, a civil war broke out in Athens, and the Thirty Tyrants were defeated by and replaced with a fresh but very radical democracy, which saved Socrates from the punishment of the Thirty. Plato was hugely relieved.

Event: But it didn't last long. Some time in between 403 and 399 BC, the new democracy started executing anyone and everyone who had played a part in the thirty. And as Socrates had many associates who had been involved in or with the Thirty Tyrants, the democracy suspected him, and he public turned against him, and a reputation was formed for him of being anti-democratic. In 399 BC, the was arrested for charges of "corrupting the youth of Athens", a prejudice formed solely by guilt-from-association. It was out of the frying pan, into the fire. And still 399 BC when Plato had to stop his studies under Socrates, because of his mentor's arrest. His trial was held the same year, and Socrates was charged or corrupting the minds of young men, and asked to make a speech. It was unapologetic, spirited, honest, and just, and he told the court that if he were set free, he would not stop teaching, stating he would "follow the voice of God over that of the state."

Needless to say, Socrates was found guilty.

Both the accusers' and the defendant's sides were given a chance to present their case about what kind of punishment they though Socrates deserved. The jurors were to decide which punishment Socrates would receive. The accusers' was, expectedly, death, whereas Socrates' came as a shocking surprise to the court. He proposed his ITALIC reward END ITALIC should be free food at the dining hall. This shows that Socrates already understood his fate, and had the guts to provoke  it. He was ready to die.

On urging to provide a real punishment, Socrates reluctantly offered that a fine should be placed upon him, of one mina of silver, which was about a fifth of his money. People scoffed. Plato and Socrates' other students and supporters quickly offered the fine be thirty minae. But Socrates had infuriated the jury. This was too little for them. And so when the vote was held, it was 360 of 500 pleading for Socrates' death, and only 140 voting for the monetary fine. The law was that the execution would be held by Socrates simply drinking a cup of poisoned hemlock juice. And this he did, and so the first martyr for free speech died. And thus his favorite student did partially, as well, inside at least, and finally set his mind to finding the better, the ideal government.









http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/socrates/socratesaccount.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codrus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanthius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrilampes