"The Good"
(402 - 318 B.C.)
FWKIWN
by Plutarch
After her defeat in the Peloponnesian War, Athens became a decadent democracy. Phocion did his best over many years to save his fellow citizens from their own foolishness, and at last he earned the reward of Socrates.
In the conflict between good men and bad times, virtue often does not get proper credit. Instead of honor and gratitude, the reward is sometimes hatred and slander. So it was with Phocion, who steered Athens through stormy days. His virtue was real, but because of the circumstances, his fame was small.
It is often said that the public is most insulting to a good man when the people are puffed up with prosperity and pride. But it also happens that misfortune makes people so sensitive that they are easily offended by any strong and honest opinions. Anyone who finds fault is presumed to be malicious. Free speech is construed as contempt, and even the wisest words irritate unless they are offered with great tact. Just as sore eyes cannot stand light, and prefer darkness, so it is with the body politic in times of trouble and humiliation.
Even though the consequences of making a mistake are serious, and honesty and frankness are required, people are too sensitive to hear the truth. At such times the job of government is most dangerous. Those who indulge the foolishness of the people are destroyed in the common ruin, and those who try to lead correctly are the first to die.
Human beings are willing to serve and to endure much so long as they are not bossed around like slaves. The wise ruler will be careful to let the people have their way when their willing obedience is evident, so that when it is really necessary he can all the more imperatively call them to do their duty in support of the common good. If a ruler goes too often against the will of the people, he will be perceived as arbitrary and harsh, and will be resented. On the other hand, if a ruler indulges the foolishness of the people too much, the consequences are dangerous for everyone. It is extremely difficult to use just enough lenience to preserve the authority of government, without going too far into dangerous errors. But if such a balance can be found it is the most important harmony. Even the divine rules the world this way, introducing necessary things by means of persuasion and logic, rather than force.
Phocion took command when the ship of state was sinking, unlike Cato the Younger, who never was allowed to rule in Rome. Both men, however, deserve to be compared together 1 because the same combination of lenience and austerity can be found in their characters. Both put the public interest ahead of their own, and were as firm to do right as they were loath to do wrong.
* * *
Phocion studied at the Academy as a student of Plato. He had an impassive face, and was hardly ever seen either happy or sad. In the army, he went barefoot and with only thin clothes, except only when the temperature was extremely cold. The soldiers used to say that it would be a hard winter when Phocion wore his coat.
Although he was very gentle and kind, his face was grim and serious. People were afraid to say hello to him unless they knew him well. Once he was kidded about his looks, and he replied: "My frowning face has never yet made any of you sad, but these jolly men (meaning the politicians) have given you plenty of grief."
Phocion's speech was brief and to the point, in the Spartan style. He had a talent for cramming the most meaning into the smallest space, and it was impossible to improve on the austere and commanding brevity of his remarks. What Phocion said was loaded with good sense. Zeno said that a philosopher should not speak until his words have been soaked in meaning, and that was certainly true of Phocion.
Not only by his words but by his character he had great authority, since a nod from a person who is respected carries more weight than a thousand polished orations from others. Although Demosthenes was the greatest orator of his time, Phocion was the most powerful speaker.
As a young man, Phocion served as a lieutenant to Chabrias, the Athenian general. Chabrias had a tendency to procrastinate, but once the battle-frenzy seized him, Chabrias would become too daring. As he was able to motivate Chabrias when lazy, and calm him down when reckless, Phocion became a valuable staff officer, and Chabrias entrusted more and more responsibilities to Phocion.
In the sea fight near Naxos [376 B.C.], Phocion commanded the left squadron, and it was in his sector that the victory was decided. This was the first victory at sea that the Athenians had won since their humiliating surrender to Sparta 2 and Chabrias became famous by it. Phocion's conduct earned him a reputation as a good commander.
Chabrias gave Phocion twenty ships and told him to go and collect the tribute from the islands under Athenian control. Phocion replied that twenty ships would not be enough if he were going to provoke a fight, but too many if he were going to friends. So he went with only one ship, and he succeeded so well by his fair and honest treatment that he even brought back more ships, filled with voluntary contributions.
* * *
Phocion observed that public affairs in Athens were divided between the public speakers and the generals, with a tacit agreement to respect each other's turf. The generals got rich from their military projects, and the politicians profited from the other business of government. Phocion wanted to restore the old system that Athens had enjoyed under Solon, Aristides, and Pericles, when men in government were, in the words of Archilocus: "The friends of both Mars 3 and the Muses, 4 and ready for art or for combat." The presiding goddess of his country 5 was the patroness of both civil and military wisdom. With this view, Phocion neither encouraged war nor failed to do his duty.
Although he always advised peace, he was elected general more often than any other Athenian in their history: forty-five times. Phocion never sought the office, and he never advocated any military expedition, but when the Athenians gave him responsibility, he did his best. It amazed some to see the Athenians seek out Phocion, who opposed most of their proposed enterprises. But when the time came for serious action, the Athenians had enough sense to choose the most austere and wise man to be their leader.
Phocion was so far from being a slave to public opinion that one time, when the Athenians applauded something he had said, Phocion turned to one of his friends and asked: "Did I say something foolish?"
Once the Athenians were angry with Phocion for not leading them out immediately against the enemy. They called him a coward, among other things, but he still refused to allow majority opinion to overrule his own judgment as commander. Phocion said to them: "You may say whatever you like, but I refuse to be brave. And whatever I say, you will not be cowards now. Nevertheless, in our hearts, each of us knows what we really are."
There was a dispute with the Thebans over boundaries, and Phocion recommended that the Athenians negotiate. The Athenians, however, wanted to fight. He replied: "You had better carry on the contest with the weapons you use best -- your tongues."
One hot day, a fat man was urging the Athenians to go to war with King Philip of Macedonia. 6 He gasped and took many drinks of water as he went on with his oration, and while he paused to catch his breath and take another drink, Phocion spoke up: "Here indeed is a fine man to lead us into a war. What do you think he will do when he is carrying his shield and armor to meet the enemy, if delivering a speech here has nearly killed him with exhaustion?"
After a war, during which the Athenians had been very fearful and easy to manage, the Athenians began to be bold once the peace was made, and they accused Phocion of losing them the honor of a victory by making a settlement with the enemy. To all of their noise Phocion said only this: "My friends, you are lucky to have for your general someone who knows you. Otherwise, you would have sunk long ago."
It is surprising that a man who was so harsh with the Athenians would be called by them "The Good." However, it is possible to be tough and still be liked, just as it is possible for things that at first are sweet to cloy and disgust later on.
Phocion never indulged any personal feelings in his public business. He would even be a friend to his opponents when they were down. In his general conversation, Phocion was courteous and nice to everyone, and never showed any malice. But in any debate over what was good for Athens, Phocion did not worry about hurting anyone's tender feelings.
* * *
King Philip of Macedonia was infiltrating Euboea. 7 Macedonian soldiers were being installed in garrisons at the invitation of some of the tyrants who ruled the cities there, and before long Philip would be in control. Plutarch of Eretria came to the Athenians for help in resisting Philip. Phocion went with a small force of Athenian soldiers, expecting to be joined by volunteers from Euboea.
But Philip had so many key people in Euboea secretly on his payroll that the whole country was undermined by treachery. Phocion found himself in a very dangerous position, with a much larger army coming to crush him, so he withdrew his men and fortified a defensive position on a hill, where he awaited further developments.
Some Athenians deserted rather than face the danger. Phocion treated this as no loss at all, telling his officers it was better that these talkers and cowards were gone, because when the moment of truth came, they would not only be useless but would actually be in the way. Furthermore, these deserters would be less likely to tell lies and make trouble in Athens when the army returned.
When the enemy came near, Phocion told his men to wait until he had finished making the sacrifice. He spent a lot of time on the ritual, so much that Plutarch lost his patience and charged off with his men. Some of the Athenian cavalry, who were exasperated by Phocion's caution and delay -- which they regarded as cowardice -- joined in with great confusion and disorder.
The enemy easily defeated the first who came up, and the rest turned around and ran. Naturally, the enemy thought that victory was theirs, so they followed eagerly after the fugitives, hoping to get first pick of plunder in the Athenian camp. By this time, however, Phocion had finished his sacrifice and had moved his army outside of the entrenchments. This unexpected counter-attack broke the scattered enemy, and many of them were killed. Around Phocion the fight was sharp and bloody. Thallus and Glaucus, who fought near him, were awarded the honors of the day, but all of the Athenians behaved as brave and good men should.
With this victory, Phocion took control of Euboea. He expelled his disobedient ally, Plutarch, from Eretria and took possession of the important forts. All of the Greek prisoners were released because Phocion feared that the angry people of Athens might harm them.
Philip was moving into the Hellespont, so the Athenians raised another army to go there. But they put Chares in charge, rather than Phocion. None of the cities in the Hellespont would admit the ships of Chares into their harbors because they were afraid of him, so Chares did nothing but wander around, extorting contributions from the allies. After a long time, nothing had been accomplished.
When the Athenians replaced Chares with Phocion, the people of the Hellespont welcomed Phocion and his soldiers into their towns, and thus Philip was driven out of the Hellespont. Up until then, Philip had enjoyed a reputation as a man too strong to resist, but this defeat damaged his prestige.
When Phocion came back from the Hellespont, he discovered that the Athenians had elected some other generals to lead them in a war against Philip. Phocion addressed the assembly and advised to make peace with Philip, and not provoke him, since at this point Philip had no hostile intentions toward Athens and did not want to get into a fight with such a powerful adversary. A lawyer then demanded to know if Phocion was daring to oppose the will of the people, and Phocion replied: "Yes, I am, even though I know that if there is war I will be your boss, and if there is peace you will be mine."
But Phocion's good advice was not heeded, and the war-mongers in Athens prevailed. The next question was whether to fight far away or close to home. Phocion said: "Good friends, let us not ask where we should fight, but how we may win. That will be the way to keep war at a distance. If we are beaten in a distant battle, it will soon be at our doors." After the defeat at Chaeronea [338 B.C.], the Athenians had to accept onerous terms from Philip.
Later, when the news of Philip's death reached Athens, the people wanted to celebrate, but Phocion told them that the army that had beaten them at Chaeronea was only one man less. And when Demosthenes, the demagogue, made jokes about Philip's son, Alexander, who was then on his way to punish the rebellion of Thebes, Phocion objected: "Why make Alexander angry at us, and why stimulate his already eager passion for glory? Why expose our city to disaster so you can make a joke? We, who accepted office to save our fellow citizens, will not allow their self-destruction no matter how loudly the crowd might cheer or laugh."
After Alexander had obliterated Thebes, he turned his attention to Athens. Alexander had heard about Demosthenes' remarks, so he demanded that the Athenians turn over Demosthenes and some of the other demagogues. The whole assembly turned to Phocion for his opinion, and he said: "You have brought things to a point now where I, if I could buy peace by giving up my best friend, would not refuse to do so. As for myself, I would be glad if I could give my own life to save our city. It is enough for Greece to have Thebes to deplore. We should soothe the anger of Alexander rather than risk everything."
Phocion went to Alexander to beg for the lives of the demagogues, who were also his own enemies. Alexander had heard from his father's friends how much Philip had respected Phocion, so he welcomed Phocion very courteously and relented on his demand for the demagogues. Alexander then asked for Phocion's advice, and Phocion told Alexander that if his plan was for quietness, he should make peace at once, but if glory was his objective, then he should make war -- not on Greece, but on the barbarians.
Phocion succeeded so well with Alexander that from then on, Athens became Alexander's favorite city in Greece. After Alexander had the whole world at his command, he continued to give Phocion marks of respect over and above what even his own close associates received. Once Alexander sent Phocion a large present of money, and Phocion asked the bearers who carried it why he, out of all the Athenians, had been singled out for such generosity. The bearers replied that Alexander considered Phocion alone to be a person of honor. Phocion then said: "Then let him permit me to continue so and still have that reputation." They followed him to his house and saw how humble it was. Phocion's wife was kneading bread with her own hands. This shocked them, and they urged Phocion all the more earnestly to take the money because Alexander, they said, would be ashamed to have a friend that lived in such poverty. Phocion pointed out to them a poor old man in worn-out clothes and asked them if they thought he was worse off than that man. They asked him not to make such a comparison, and he said: "He, who has less than I, finds it sufficient. If I do not use the money, what good is there in having it? If I do use it, I will get a bad reputation, both for myself and for Alexander." So Alexander's present returned from Athens, proving by this example that he who could afford to give it was not so rich as he who could afford to turn it down.
* * *
Phocion's wife was as famous for her good character as Phocion was for his good sense. Once she was entertaining a visitor from Ionia, who was showing off all her fine jewelry. After enduring this woman for a while, Phocion's wife said: "As for me, my ornament is my husband, Phocion, who is now in his twentieth year as general of the Athenians."
Phocion's son, Phocus, became a famous athlete and was invited to parties all over Athens. He developed a taste for wine and frolic, and he began to spend time with evil companions. Hoping to turn Phocus away from such habits and company, Phocion sent him to Sparta, and placed him among the youths then under Spartan discipline. The Athenians were offended at this, considering it an insult to their own education. Demades, one of the demagogues, publicly taunted Phocion, saying: "Let us simply adopt the whole Spartan constitution here in Athens." To this, Phocion replied: "You, with your perfume and your fancy clothes, are the perfect man to speak in favor of such a proposal."
* * *
Alexander wrote to the Athenians and requested them to send a certain number of ships. Some of the demagogues objected, but Phocion said: "If you can't be victorious yourselves, at least be friends with someone who is."
Harpalus, whom Alexander had entrusted with the treasure of Darius, 8 absconded to Athens with a huge fortune. When Harpalus arrived, the politicians and lawyers scrambled to get on his payroll. Harpalus doled out just enough to make them hungry for more, but to Phocion he offered the enormous sum of 700 talents. Also, Harpalus offered to give Phocion the management of all his business affairs. Phocion answered him sharply, and warned him to stop corrupting the city. This stopped Harpalus for a while, and the pay to the parasites ceased.
Later, when the Athenians were debating what to do about Harpalus, those who had accepted his money became his loudest enemies, hoping thereby to conceal the bribes they had accepted from him. But Phocion, who had accepted none of the tainted treasure, was kind.
This encouraged Harpalus to try again to bribe Phocion, but again he failed. So Harpalus went to Charicles, Phocion's son-in-law, and requested his advice on a business matter. By spending a lot of time with Harpalus, Charicles raised a suspicion of corruption. When Harpalus' mistress died, he commissioned Charicles to build a tomb, giving him thirty talents for the expenses. This job was dishonorable enough to begin with, but what was built did not appear to be worth what was paid for it. Charicles went on trial for bribery, and he asked Phocion to be his advocate, but Phocion refused, telling him: "I did not choose you to be my son-in-law for any but honorable purposes."
* * *
When the news of Alexander's death reached Athens, some did not believe it, saying that the stench of Alexander's corpse would have filled the whole world. Others maintained equally vehemently that the news was indeed true, and many people were in favor of revolting immediately. Phocion brought some common sense to all of the wild rhetoric by saying: "If Alexander is dead, he will be dead tomorrow, and the day after that. So there is no need for us to be in a hurry about deciding what to do, or to take action before we are safe."
War-mongers continued to agitate the Athenians, and Phocion steadfastly opposed them. To one he said: "Young man, your speeches are like cypress trees: tall and pretty, but with no fruit to come of them." And to another who asked him when he would ever be in favor of Athens going to war, Phocion said: "As soon as the young men follow orders and stand their ground, the rich contribute their money, and the politicians stop stealing from the treasury."
Despite Phocion's objections, the Athenians went to war with the Lamians. At first, the war went well for Athens, but Phocion could foresee that the end would be bad. News of victories arrived, and someone asked Phocion whether he would like to have been the general that won them. "Yes, of course," Phocion said, "But I am still satisfied with my previous opinion."
When that general died, the war-mongers were afraid that Phocion might be the one elected general to take his place, which would probably end the war. They therefore arranged for someone to appear at the assembly and request the Athenians to reserve his dear friend Phocion for some other service, and to elect some other man general. Phocion usually did not come to elections for general, and he never solicited the office. This time, however, he happened to be present. Phocion stood up and said that he did not even know this man, and then continued: "But now, sir, let me put you on my list of friends, since you have given a piece of advice so much to my advantage."
* * *
When Micion, with a large force of Macedonians and mercenaries, raided the coast, Phocion led out the Athenians to stop him. There were so many that came to Phocion with military advice that he exclaimed: "Oh Hercules, how many generals we have, and how few fighting men!" After he had lined the Athenians up for battle, there was one who advanced out in front of the rest to show his bravery, but when the enemy came near, he retreated back to his original spot. Phocion went to him and said: "Young man, are you not ashamed that twice in one day you deserted your post? First, the one where I placed you, and second, the one where you placed yourself." Phocion won that battle and killed Micion and many others.
Antipater 9 came down from Macedonia against Athens. Phocion was appointed ambassador to arrange peace for Athens if tolerable terms could be worked out. The Athenians accepted the following conditions: (1) that Athens allow Macedonian soldiers to occupy the fort commanding its port; (2) that Athens resume its ancient constitution, allowing only property owners to vote; (3) that Athens pay reparations for the cost of the war; and (4) that certain demagogues be turned over to Antipater. The Macedonian garrison installed by Antipater was commanded by Menyllus, a fair man, and an acquaintance of Phocion.
But the Athenians resented the presence of an enemy garrison, and they hoped for a miracle to save them. Those who were now excluded by the property qualification from voting now amounted to twelve thousand. Phocion told the trouble-makers and demagogues, who before had made their living from politics and talking, to stay at home and be content to till their land.
Antipater tried to get Phocion's help to do something dishonorable, but Phocion told him: "I can't be both your flunky and your friend." Phocion also refused to accept gifts from Antipater, unlike Demades, who was happy to take Antipater's money and spend it in lavish displays of personal magnificence.
Phocion refused to plead with Antipater for the removal of the garrison, so the Athenians turned to Demades. Demades had the bad luck to arrive in Macedonia just at the time that Antipater, because of sickness, gave up his command to Cassander. Cassander had found a letter written by Demades inviting Antigonus to come and take over Macedonia and Greece, which, wrote Demades, were hanging "by an old and rotten thread" -- an obvious reference to Antipater, Cassander's patron. First, Cassander killed Demades' son so close in front of him that the blood sprayed all over Demades' clothes. Then Cassander showed Demades the letter and gave him a lecture about ingratitude and treachery before killing Demades too.
Cassander sent Nicanor to take over the garrison from Menyllus. Phocion conferred continually with Nicanor, and succeeded in winning his good will for the Athenians. But there was another faction in Macedonia, led by Polysperchon. 10
To undermine Cassander, Polysperchon sent a letter to the Athenians granting them total democracy. He knew that the surest way to ruin Phocion and get total control of Athens for Macedonia was to fill the city with greedy beggars and demagogues. This letter caused tremendous excitement, so Nicanor came to confer with the Athenian leaders, trusting his safety to the honor of Phocion. There was an attempt made by the Athenians to take Nicanor prisoner, but he managed to escape.
The Athenians blamed Phocion for letting Nicanor get away, and Phocion defended himself by saying that he had no reason to distrust Nicanor, nor to expect that any harm would come to Athens from him. "But," he added, "if he does retaliate, I still prefer to receive than to do the wrong."
As far as Phocion spoke for himself alone, this answer was honorable. However, he was the mayor and chief commander, and in those capacities he owed a higher duty to those who gave him that trust than to his personal honor. Also, Phocion showed an undue credulity in expecting that Nicanor would remain friendly after that incident. It was not until Nicanor actually led out his troops and closed off the port that Phocion took action, and by that time the Athenian soldiers would not obey Phocion any more.
Alexander, the son of Polysperchon, came to Athens with a large force of Macedonians. Ostensibly his purpose was to help defend democracy against Nicanor, but really his purpose was to put Macedonia in complete control of Athens while everything was in turmoil and the people were divided. All of the exiled Athenian trouble-makers returned with Alexander.
Soon a mob convened and took all authority away from Phocion, replacing him with other generals. The Macedonian takeover plot might have succeeded, had Alexander not been observed conferring with Nicanor.
Because of his friendship with Nicanor, the Athenians charged Phocion with treason. At Phocion's trial, which was before a mixed crowd including women, slaves, and foreigners, one of Phocion's friends requested that since this matter was of such importance, all who were not citizens should withdraw. The rabble shouted him down, and screamed for this enemy of democracy to be stoned. So none of the other respectable citizens dared to speak. And when the sight of Phocion in chains brought tears to their eyes, they tried to conceal them.
There were others being tried with him, and when Phocion found that he could not get a hearing because of all the noise that drowned out his defense, he shouted out: "As to myself, I admit my guilt. Yes, I deserve to die. But why will you kill these men, who have done nothing?" The rabble screamed that being his friends was enough to deserve death. After this, Phocion refused to say anything more.
From there, the Athenians carried Phocion and his friends to the prison. His enemies ran alongside, cursing and spitting on him. Phocion's demeanor was exactly the same as when he used to be accompanied home from the assembly after accepting the office of general. At the prison, as the executioner prepared the poison, one of the condemned men complained of the bitterness of his fate, being condemned to death just because he happened to be a friend of Phocion. "You are not content to die with Phocion?" said the old general.
After the prisoners had all drunk their poison, they discovered that the dose was not enough to kill them. The executioner demanded more money to finish the job. Phocion remarked that in Athens it was not even possible to die without paying money for it.
The malice of Phocion's enemies did not stop with his execution. The people of Athens passed a law denying burial to his body, and forbidding any Athenian to light a funeral pyre to cremate it.
The death of Phocion revived memories of Socrates,11 as the cases were so similar, and were equally the fault and misfortune of Athens. Later, their own sad experience taught the Athenians how good a man they had lost, and they punished the demagogues who had stirred up the mob against him.
NOTES:
1. Plutarch paired a Greek with a Roman life and then gave a comparison. What has survived nineteen centuries are 22 such pairs of lives and 4 miscellaneous biographies. The standard edition of the complete Lives in English is that of Dryden, as revised by Clough (1864).
2. The Peloponnesian War ended with the surrender of Athens to Sparta in 404 B.C. This humiliating defeat after such a long and expensive struggle crushed the spirit of Athens.
3. Mars is the Roman name for the Greek god of war, Ares.
4. The Muses were nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus (Jupiter) and Mnemosyne (the goddess of memory). Each one presided over a certain art, e.g. Clio for history, Terpsichore for dancing, and Thalia for comedy.
5. Athena (Minerva) was the Athenians' special favorite among the gods. Athena was born in full armor out of the head of Zeus (Jupiter), and she was his favorite child. She had no mother. Her temple in Athens is the Parthenon. This warrior maiden is an important figure in Homer's epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.
6. King Philip was the father of Alexander the Great. Philip subjugated all of Greece after the Battle of Chaeronea (338 B.C.). Two years later, he was assassinated, and Alexander became king. See the life of Alexander.
7. Euboea is a long island near Athens.
8. This treasure stolen by Harpalus amounted to 180,000 talents. One talent of gold is approximately 51 pounds, a little over the size of a common construction brick, and a load that a bearer could carry for a journey. In terms of 1998 dollars, this treasure was worth $42 billion.
9. Antipater was the governor appointed by Alexander to look after Greece and Macedonia while Alexander was away in Asia. After Alexander's death, Antipater became the leader of a junta of Alexander's generals, and he acted as regent for Alexander's baby son. This regency lasted from 323 to 319 B.C., when Antipater died at the age of seventy.
10. Alexander's mother, Olympias, allied herself to Polysperchon (317 B.C.) and Cassander retaliated by killing Olympias and Alexander's baby. There was a period of anarchy after Antipater died, and in 311 B.C. five kingdoms were created out of Alexander's empire to settle the ambitions of the competing generals.
11. Socrates (469 - 399 B.C.) was an Athenian philosopher who was condemned to death by the Athenians. His pupil, Plato, preserved the sayings of Socrates in his dialogues. Socrates' defense of himself at his trial is given in Plato's Apology. In the Phaedo, Plato describes the last hours of Socrates, a conversation as he was about to die by drinking hemlock in the jail of Athens.
In 423 B.C., Aristophanes' comedy The Clouds had ridiculed the philosophers of Athens, especially Socrates. The sophists, who were word jugglers who (for enough money) could make the black seem white, were deservedly unpopular, but Socrates was not one of them. As Socrates told his accusers, his best defense against the charge of mercenary motives was his lifelong poverty, which was indeed extreme. However, to the uninformed public, Socrates was just another one of those sophists who had corrupted the morals of Athens.
Socrates' frankness was somewhat irritating. He even called himself a "gadfly." The pretenders to wisdom whom he cross-examined were more enraged than edified to discover that their second-hand theories could not hang together. The creative artists hated Socrates because he denied them personal credit for their art, saying that poetry, like prophecy, is the result of inspiration rather than the mind of the poet. Everyone who had some prestige to protect felt threatened by the presence of Socrates, and eventually some of them conspired and accused Socrates of not believing in the gods of Athens. Many Athenians needed a conviction to vindicate their dignity.
The impiety charge was merely a pretext for the Athenians to vent their hostility against sophists and to retaliate against someone who had the bad manners to object to corruption, and to expose their ignorance. Socrates denied that he was an atheist. He was very much a believer in the supernatural. In fact, he had his own guardian angel, which told him "no" whenever he was about to make a mistake, but never scolded him for the past or recommended any course of action. He certainly respected the Delphic oracle, which had declared that there was no wiser man than Socrates. Other men not only did not know themselves, they even presumed to know the gods. But not Socrates, who admitted his ignorance of divine things, and whose piety was based on love of goodness, not fear of power.
But even on trial for his life, Socrates would not relent in his critical attitude. He told his jury: "Are you not ashamed to give all of your attention to getting money and prestige, while you neglect truth, understanding, and the perfection of your soul?" (Cf. Matthew 16:26). The vote was 280 to 220 in favor of conviction. Then came the punishment phase of the trial. When asked what penalty he would suggest for himself, the unrepentant Socrates suggested that he be given free meals for life, like the Athenians gave to winners at the Olympic games, because he was such a valuable citizen. The jury disagreed, and sentenced him to death. The prospect of death did not trouble Socrates, who reasoned that it would mean either oblivion, like a dreamless sleep, or a transformation into a new existence free of the encumbrance of a body and its appetites.
Plutarch, in his essay in the Moralia entitled "On Talking Too Much," informs us that after working out at the gymnasium, Socrates would not allow himself to drink until he had drawn a first bucket and poured it away. This procedure was to subjugate the impulsive, irrational part of his mind, and accustom it to follow the commands of the reasoning part. Socrates advised his students to stay away from such food as might tempt them to eat when they were not really hungry.
The importance of Socrates for understanding classical and modern philosophy has recently been re-emphasized by Allan Bloom in his very interesting work, The Closing of the American Mind (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987).
