Why did the Athenians convict and execute Socrates - Free Essay Example

In 399 B.C.E., a tragedy befell the ancient world: the great philosopher Socrates was executed and convicted. Despite his renown in the modern world, ancient Athens viewed him as a threat and convicted him of injustice and corruption of the youth(4). There are many reasons cited for the trial and execution of Socrates, but in the end, it came down to three main reasons. The evidence suggests that Socrates was sentenced execution for his arrogant behavior, for corrupting the youth of the city with his teachings of new ideas and attempts to implement those new ideas in Athens (6), and relatedly, his involvement in The Thirty Tyrants (6). While there were some people that disliked Socrates for his outrageous philosophical ideas and beliefs, he did have many loyal followers, primarily his scholars and wealthy Athenian elites. Stated by one of his students, Plato, he was the wisest man alive. Socrates Apology, as recorded by Plato, suggested that Socrates was a headstrong, stubborn and pompous man(14). The evidence suggests that one of the reasons that the Athenians executed Socrates was because of his arrogance. The court believed that his interrogation of prominent Athenians and holier, or in this case, wiser-than-thou attitude was disrespectful and insulting. By way of one example, in Socrates trial, he was given the opportunity to propose his own punishment. Socrates himself stated: Something good, men of Athens, if I am truly to be sentenced according to what I deserve, If I must suggest a penalty according to what I deserve, I recommend this: to be fed in the Prytaneum (referring to an elite place to eat only reserved for nobility)(14). This proposition was foolish and inappropriate. Unsurprisingly, this proposition angered the jury and was promptly rejected. In addition, Socrates constantly questioned those who seemed wiser than him(14). This derived from his boastful claim that God told him that he was the wisest man. He stated Here is one wiser than me. But you said I was the wisest. He then examined and questioned others. After doing so, he proved the Oracle correct, confirming to himself and to others that he was the wisest. He even told everyone that he was superior to the politicians(14). This made the town mad, they disliked him and thought of him as foolish and inappropriate for challenging them. The Athenians also convicted Socrates for corrupting the youth. The play The Clouds by Asistophicles implied that he was affiliated with the Sophists(12). Being viewed as a Sophist, he was feared by the city because of the controversial teachings he and other Sophists presented to the youth. Athenians believed they practiced wild and disrespectful behaviors(9). Contrary to this belief, during his trial, Socrates said to not be apart of the Sophists and gave proof of his efforts to promote virtue and glorify the behavior from Athenians. The jury apparently did not accept this testimony. He also corrupted the youth with his ideas and new beliefs that he presented to them through stories(13). The Allegory of the Cave was one of the stories Plato, one of his scholars wrote. This story relates to Socrates own experience with Athens when he tried to propose his new ideas to them but was quickly rejected. The story showed students that by venturing beyond, and questioning belief systems, new concepts could be learned. In the story, one of the caveman went out to experience new things and came back to share his experiences with the others in the cave, but was rejected as crazy and executed(13). In real life, Socrates was the man who went out of the cave to open a new world and when we came back to Athens to show his new ideas of believing the gods instead of government, he was shamed for his non-conforming beliefs and not believing in politicians and government(5). In the story, it shows that Athens (or the others) was stubborn and not open to new ideas or views. Contrary to this submitted reason for why Socrates was convicted and executed, Plato thought that Socrates was extremely wise and that questioning authority and learning new views benefited society. Being a mentor to the leaders of The Thirty Tyrants, Alcibiades and Critias, Socrates convinced the Athenians that he was associated with their poor behavior. Stated by one of the accusers in his trial, Critias and Alcibiades became close followers of Socrates, and the two of them did grievous wrongs to the city (9). These two powerful men that Socrates taught, became the leaders of The Thirty Tyrants, the most violent and murderous group of Athens and in the end, ended democracy in Athens(9). Accusers blamed Socrates for the wrongdoings caused by The Thirty Tyrants. Many agreed that Socrates educated the two men but the real argument was whether or not Socrates education contributed to Alcibiades and Critias treachery. This debate exhibits the importance of Socrates corruption of the youth as a central premise of why the Athenians executed Socrates. As I established above, the greater weight of the evidence from the documents show that Socrates was convicted and executed for his arrogant behavior (9), for corrupting the youth of the city with his teachings of new ideas and attempts to implement those new ideas in Athens (6), and relatedly, his involvement in The Thirty Tyrants (2).

The Treatment Of Breast Cancer - 950 Words

The human body is made of about 37 trillion cells, which work together in collaboration to keep your body functioning correctly. When a cancer or a disease attacks healthy cells, it overtakes the entire cell’s functions and rapidly multiplies into other corrupt cells. It is very important to the safety of a person’s life to be educated on the effects of cancer and how to detect them, because it is a wildfire like disease, once it has spread it is extremely hard to control. Breast cancer intrigues me because I have a high risk of getting this cancer due to my family history; from my great aunts to aunts to my own mother. They have shown strength and courage in defeating every bad cell that comes through their pathway. This report is to inform the reader on the history of breast cancer, the types of breast cancer, how it is diagnosed, treatment methods and future prevention methods. The presence of breast cancer can be dated for the entire time human life has existed. It was known easily because breast cancer is detected through self-examination, what a person would feel in self-examination is a lump or a mass of cells in one specific spot of the breast. However, because the definition and term Breast Cancer was beyond their literary means in the early years, the lumps found on breasts were seen as something of embarrassment or forbidden (Mandal). The Egyptians and Greeks from over 3,500 years ago was the first culture to inspect the breast cancer, they thought it was justShow MoreRelatedBreast Cancer Treatment1620 Words   |  7 PagesBreast Cancer Treatment Breast cancer is turning to be one of the top killer women in the world. This kind of cancerous tumor is attacking breast tissue of woman. A disease in which abnormal cells in the breast divide and multiply in an uncontrolled fashion. The cells can invade nearby tissue and can spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to others part of the body and start to kill the organ one by one. 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Othello and Iago free essay sample

Othello and others in the play constantly refer to him as honest Iago. He has risen through the ranks in the army by merit and achievement, and Othello, whose military judgment is excellent, has taken him as  ancient  (captain) because of his qualities. In Iago, Shakespeare shows us a character who acts against his reputation. Possibly Iago was always a villain and confidence trickster who set up a false reputation for honesty, but how can one set up a reputation for honesty except by being consistently honest over a long period of time? Alternatively he might be a man who used to be honest in the past, but has decided to abandon this virtue. Shakespeare has built the character of Iago from an idea already existing in the theatrical culture of his time: the Devil in religious morality plays, which developed into the villain in Elizabethan drama and tragedy. Iago says (I. We will write a custom essay sample on Othello and Iago or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 1, 65) I am not what I am, which can be interpreted as I am not what I seem. But it is also reminiscent of a quotation from the Bible which Shakespeare would have known: In Exodus, God gives his laws to Moses on Mt. Sinai, and Moses asks God his name. God replies: I am that I am (Exodus, iii, 14). If I am that I am stands for God, then Iagos self-description, I am not what I am is the direct opposite. Iago is the opposite of God, that is, he is the Devil. Iago in this play, has the qualities of the Devil in medieval and Renaissance morality plays: He is a liar, he makes promises he has no intention of keeping, he tells fancy stories in order to trap people and lead them to their destruction, and he sees others greatest vulnerabilities and uses these to destroy them. Iago does all this not for any good reason, but for love of evil. Iago is surrounded with bitter irony: he is not as he seems, his good is bad for others, people repeatedly rely on him, and he betrays them. He likes to have others unwittingly working to serve his purposes. But for all this, as his plot against Othello starts moving and gathering momentum, he loses control of it and must take real risks to prevent it from crashing. Iago is a man with an obsession for control and power over others who has let this obsession take over his whole life. Necessity forces his hand, and, in order to destroy Othello, he must also destroy Rodrigo, Emilia, Desdemona, and ultimately himself. The one man who survived Iagos attempt to kill him, Cassio, is the only major character left standing at the end of the play. For someone to constantly lie and deceive ones wife and friends, one must be extremely evil or, in the case of Iago, amoral. In every scene in which Iago speaks one can point out his deceptive manner. Iago tricks Othello into believing that his own wife is having an affair, without any concrete proof. Othello is so caught up in Iagos lies that he refuses to believe Desdemona when she denies the whole thing. Much credit must be given to Iagos diabolical prowess which enables him to bend and twist the supple minds of his friends and spouse. In todays society Iago would be called a psychopath without a conscience not the devil incarnate. Iago also manages to steal from his own friend without the slightest feeling of guilt. He embezzles the money that Rodrigo gives him to win over Desdemona. When Rodrigo discovers that Iago has been hoarding his money he screams at Iago and threatens him. However, when Iago tells him some fanciful plot in order to capture Desdemonas heart Rodrigo forgets Iagos theft and agrees to kill Cassio. Iagos keen intellect is what intrigues the reader most. His ability to say the right things at the right time is what makes him such a successful villain. However, someone with a conscience would never be able to keep up such a ploy and deceive everyone around him. This is why it is necessary to say that Iago is amoral, because if you dont his character becomes fictional and hard to believe. At the climactic ending of the play, Iagos plot is given away to Othello by his own wife, Emilia. Iago sees his wife as an obstacle and a nuisance so he kills her. He kills her not as much out of anger but for pragmatic reasons. Emilia is a stumbling block in front of his path. She serves no purpose to him anymore and she can now only hurt his chances of keeping the position he has been given by Othello. Iagos merciless taking of Emilias and Rodrigo’s lives is another proof of his amorality. |