?How was the Athenian philosopher executed and why did he refuse to escape from prison
Today is the anniversary of the issuance of the death sentence against the Greek philosopher Socrates, who is considered one of the founders of Western philosophy. The sentence was issued on February 15, 399 BC, after the government of the Thirty Tyrants sought to ask Socrates and four others to carry out an unjust death sentence on the ruler of Salamis, as He was tried for denying the gods and corrupting the morals of youth.
You know that on the night of Socrates' execution, hours before the sentence was carried out, his loyal student Plato bribed the prison guards and opened the gates for him.
He told him to flee outside Greece and spread his idea outside the borders of Athens, but Socrates refused to escape and stressed that he would not leave Greece
He said: If I cannot spread philosophy in Greece, I will not be able to spread it outside Greece. So Socrates must die and long live philosophy.
According to the book “Europe A Brief History” written by John Hirst, the execution process at that time in Athens was usually carried out quickly, but the execution of Socrates was postponed due to religious holidays, and he could have escaped, and the authorities at that time had some hope that he would escape, but he refused this option. As the author described, he always said: “Why continue to cling to life, if I am not going to live forever?”
According to a number of other studies, the means for Socrates to escape from his prison before the execution of the death sentence were available, as his followers could have offered a bribe to the prison guards, but he refused to do so out of respect for the laws.
In his aforementioned book, John Hirst mentions the method of Socrates' execution, which was to drink poison extracted from the hemlock plant. His students begged him to delay drinking the poison, as he had to drink the poison at the end of the day, and the sun had not yet set behind the hills, but he confirmed that he would feel... With humiliation in front of himself if he clings to life, and takes the poison with all calmness, and shows any sign of its unpalatability, saying: “This poison kills quickly.”
Source: websites