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what is Socrate's like?

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at the start of Euthyphro

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Socrates and Euthyphro meet outside the Archon Basileus' court

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Archon Basileus

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official in charge of overseeing religious matters in Athens

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holds hearings in cases of alleged, religious crime

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which is why Socrates and Euthyphro are before him on this day

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Euthyphro wants to charge his dad with murder

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it isn't a clear case

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so it is an odd thing for a son to be going out of his way to do

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Socrates says he has been charged by a man named Miletus with corrupting the youth and "making new gods"

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Euthyphro [Εὐθύφρων]

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sometimes described as a priest but is more of a soothsayer or prophet

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thinks Socrates will resolve the issue

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instead Socrates loses his case, gets sentenced to death, and dies

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The Apology

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verbal defense

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the two speeches Socrates gave at his own defense

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1. determination of guilt and evidence

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if guilty

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2. prosecution asks for a punishment, defender asks for another punishment

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the prosecutor asked for death, expecting Socrates to ask for exile and expecting the jury to go for that

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instead, Socrates asked for free lunch for life at the cities expense

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was an honor given to athletes

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a jury of 500 Athenians

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Socrates seems somewhat like a comedian

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but on the other hand, he seems to be serious in the sense that he is questioning people for their own good

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he was willing to give his life for doing what he believed in

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he also had characteristics of a troll

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one man's troll is another man's critical intellectual

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should we read The Apology seriously, like stand-up comedy, or somewhere in between

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Socrates is argues about what many people in a trial think about

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this person must be guilty of something, thinking that innocent people don't end up in court

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explains what he was up to everyday which has led to him corrupting the youth

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the joke is

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a parody of a person who has received some religious revelation

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question: is there any man wiser than Socrates

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Oracle says: no man is wiser than Socrates

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so Socrates tries to prove the Oracle wrong but can't, as everyone else is like him, they don't know anything, but Socrates at least knows that he doesn't know

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but he is becoming unpopular, exposing other people as not knowing what they are talking about, in service to the Oracle