Dail #15

I do not think Socrates really got what he deserved because it was definitely not fair for the Athenians to arrest him for expressing his beliefs. It does not make much sense that Socrates got arrested because Athens at the time was a democracy and Socrates should have had the right to speak up and voice his own opinion. Socrates really helped Athens rise to a great empire with his superior intellect and his mind and suddenly the people of Athens were turning against him for some reason. The main reason why the Athenians got mad at Socrates was they needed someone to blame for the results of the Peloponnesian War and they decided that Socrates was the cause. Socrates always used reason and logic to understand the world but sometimes his mind got him into trouble.  He often questioned and argued the ancient Greek traditions and the people of Athens were starting to become suspicious of him. He did what was right for the city of Athens during his prime years and it was not his fault that he was forced to die. Socrates was technically arrested for two charges- corrupting the youth of Athens and impiety, which was going against the religious principles of the people and creating your own. He eventually was led into one of the most famous trials of all time and the trial did not go well for him. He was not given much time to defend himself and the Athenians that once admired him for his mind found him guilty of his charges. Socrates then was forced to commit suicide against himself by drinking a deadly potion containing hemlock, and he was 70 years old when he died. I do not think he accepted exile because he wanted to stand up for his beliefs and probably thought death was a better option at the time then exile. He knew the people did not respect him anymore and he knew the people of Athens wanted someone else to replace him.