Apology

Chapter-by-chapter summary

Spoiler warning: this section covers the whole speech, including the verdict and the death sentence. The Apology has no chapters, so we divide it into six natural parts, with the standard reference numbers (such as 17a) that editions print in the margin.

Part 1: Not a Clever Speaker (17a–18a)

Socrates opens by warning the jury that his accusers speak so smoothly that he almost forgot himself. He, by contrast, will tell the plain truth in the everyday words he uses in the marketplace. At seventy, he says, he has never stood in a court before, so the jury should forgive his manner and judge only whether his case is just. Why it matters: the opening sets up the central contrast of the speech, the polished persuader against the honest questioner, and tells us Socrates cares more about truth than about winning.

Part 2: The Old Accusers and the Oracle (18a–24b)

Socrates says the dangerous charges are the old rumours, repeated for years: that he studies the sky and the earth and makes the weaker argument defeat the stronger. He denies being a natural scientist or a paid teacher like the sophists. Then he explains where his reputation came from. His friend Chaerephon asked the oracle at Delphi whether anyone was wiser than Socrates, and it said no. Puzzled, Socrates questioned politicians, poets and craftsmen. They thought they knew important things and did not; he at least knew that he did not know. Why it matters: this is the origin of his mission, and it explains why so many powerful people disliked him.

Part 3: Cross-Examining Meletus (24b–28a)

Socrates turns to the formal charges and questions his chief accuser, Meletus, on the spot. Meletus claims Socrates corrupts the young, yet when pressed he says that everyone in Athens improves them except Socrates, which makes no sense. Socrates then shows that Meletus calls him both a complete atheist and a man who introduces new divine beings, which contradicts itself. If he harmed anyone, he adds, it was by accident, and that calls for teaching, not punishment. Why it matters: the exchange shows the Socratic method in action and exposes how thin the case against him is.

Part 4: Why He Will Not Stop (28b–35d)

Socrates compares himself to the hero Achilles, who accepted death rather than live in disgrace. He kept his post as a soldier, and he will keep the post the god gave him: examining himself and others. Even if the jury offered to free him on condition that he stop philosophising, he would refuse. Athens, he says, is like a large, sluggish horse and he is the gadfly sent to wake it. He explains that he never entered politics because an honest man in public life would soon be killed. He also refuses to weep or bring his children forward to win pity. Why it matters: this long middle shows what he values above safety.

Part 5: Verdict and Penalty (35e–38b)

The jury votes to convict, but Socrates says he is surprised that the vote was so close. The accusers ask for death, so it falls to Socrates to propose an alternative. What he truly deserves, he says, is free meals in the town hall, an honour given to Olympic victors, because he has served the city. He rejects prison and exile, since he would only keep questioning people elsewhere, and finally suggests a fine that friends including Plato will guarantee. He adds that an unexamined life is not worth living. Why it matters: he chooses consistency with his way of life over a deal to save himself.

Part 6: The Death Sentence and Farewell (38c–42a)

The jury sentences him to death. Socrates first speaks to those who voted against him and warns that younger, harsher critics will follow. Then he speaks kindly to those who voted to acquit. His inner voice, which usually stops him from wrong actions, stayed silent all day, so he takes it that death is not an evil. Death is either a dreamless sleep or a journey to meet the great dead, and neither is to be feared. He asks only that his sons be corrected if they put wealth before goodness. He ends by saying it is time to go: he to die, they to live, and only the god knows which is better. Why it matters: his calm in the face of death is the proof of what he has argued.

Characters

• Socrates: The seventy-year-old Athenian philosopher on trial. He claims no wisdom, only awareness of his own ignorance, and spends his days questioning people in public places. He speaks plainly, uses irony, and trusts an inner voice that warns him away from wrong choices.
• Meletus: The young accuser who brought the charges, speaking for the poets. Under cross-examination he cannot explain who improves the young. Plato shows him as someone who accused a man of serious crimes without ever having thought the matter through.
• Anytus: A powerful politician who joined the prosecution on behalf of craftsmen and public figures. Socrates treats him as the voice of the people he embarrassed with his questions, and says that men like Anytus and Meletus cannot truly harm a good person.
• Chaerephon: Socrates' old friend, who asked the oracle at Delphi whether anyone was wiser than Socrates. He had already died by the time of the trial, so Socrates mentions that his brother can confirm the story. His question set Socrates' mission in motion.
• Aristophanes: The comic playwright whose play The Clouds showed a Socrates hanging in a basket and studying the heavens. Socrates points to it as one source of the old rumours about him, which he says are harder to answer than the new charges.
• Plato: The author and a pupil of Socrates. The text places him in the courtroom and names him as one of the friends ready to guarantee the fine. Scholars debate how closely the written speech follows what Socrates actually said.
• The jurors: A large panel of ordinary Athenian citizens chosen by lot, who decide guilt and then the penalty. Socrates calls them “men of Athens” and speaks differently to those who convict him and those who vote to free him.

Writing about this book

Start from one clear question rather than a retelling. Teachers already know the plot; they want to see your thinking. Possible starting points:

• Was Socrates right to refuse to stop philosophising when it put his life at risk?
• Is admitting what you do not know a real kind of wisdom, or a clever pose?
• Plato wrote the speech, so how far should we trust it as a picture of Socrates?

Choose one theme and support it with one short scene: the oracle story, the questioning of Meletus, the gadfly image or the farewell. Compare it with a modern case, such as a whistleblower or campaigner who speaks against the accepted view and pays a price. Say whether you agree with Socrates and why, and give the strongest argument for the opposite side. A good report shows where you were convinced, where you doubted, and which example from your own life made the idea clearer.